WAI'ANAE — Manuel S. Pablo crouched in foxholes to defend the Philippines against invading Japanese soldiers in World War II. He watched a Japanese guard stab one of his comrades to death with a bayonet during the Bataan Death March when the starving prisoner of war dared to ask for another bowl of rice.

Even though Pablo risked his life for the United States, which controlled the Philippines as a commonwealth at the time, his children can't win approval to live with him in America during his retirement.

Scholars and veteran advocates say the policy reflects decades of neglect, dating to 1946 when Washington broke wartime promises the soldiers could become U.S. citizens and enjoy the same pension and medical benefits as American troops.

The federal government has since belatedly fulfilled those commitments, but only in the past two decades and only in fits and starts. And some issues remain unresolved, like resident rights for the children of veterans. Today, thousands of elderly veterans — including those wounded in battle and awarded the Bronze Star and other medals — are forced to live their last years far from the warm touch of their children and grandchildren.

"I feel lonely whenever I think about them," Pablo, 88, said during an interview on the wooden porch of his home in Wai'anae. "If only they were here."

Pablo enlisted in the Philippine Scouts, a U.S. Army unit, after a recruiting truck drove through his hometown of San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte province.

When the Imperial Japanese Army invaded on Dec. 8, 1941, he and his fellow soldiers dug foxholes to fight against troops shooting at them from the jungle. He recalls hunkering down between the corpses of fallen comrades, using their bodies to shield himself from bullets.

Other Filipinos formed the resistance against Japanese troops after U.S. forces surrendered at Bataan and Gen. Douglas MacArthur withdrew to Australia uttering the famous phrase, "I shall return."

Belinda Aquino, a University of Hawai'i political science professor, said the U.S. "dumped" Filipino veterans after World War II. Their cause then struggled in the postwar years as the U.S. focused on fighting communism.

"The Philippines was just not an important priority for the U.S.," she said.

It took Washington 45 years after the war to offer veterans a proper chance to obtain citizenship. Yet the Immigration Act of 1990 only allowed each veteran to bring one immediate family member to the United States with them, forcing most to leave their children behind.

The shortcomings of that law have left the sons and daughters of the veterans with no choice but to get in line for immigration visas along with everyone else. On average, they must wait about 20 years because so many Filipinos hope to emigrate and the limits are set by nationality.

Pablo's three sons and four daughters have been on the list since 1994, two years after he immigrated to Hawai'i and became a U.S. citizen.

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, this year reintroduced a bill to remedy the situation, allowing children of Filipino World War II veterans to sidestep the immigration waiting list.

"The promise back then was, 'Hey, you're going to become American citizens and you'll get full benefits.' After the war ended, for some reason, the U.S. reneged on that promise," said Jon Yoshimura, an Akaka spokesman.

The measure died last year when it was included in a large omnibus immigration bill that was derailed by disagreements over a border fence and making English the national language.

Akaka is optimistic the Senate will pass the reunification legislation this year, Yoshimura said. The Veterans Affairs Committee, which Akaka chairs, plans to hold hearings on the issue next month coinciding with the 65th anniversary of the Bataan Death March on April 9.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the ranking minority member of the committee, has not taken a position on the bill, his spokesman Jeff Schrade said.

Pablo could live in the Philippines near his children. But he prefers to live in the United States where he can get medical care at veterans' hospitals.

"When he gets nightmares, he's shaking. He's saying 'Can you cover my face? They are coming,' " said his wife Fely Pablo. "He says, 'The Japanese are coming!' "

Veterans and their backers say the need to reunite divided families only grows more urgent given the advancing age of the veterans.

Art Caleda, president of the Hawai'i chapter of World War II Filipino-American Veterans, said eight Filipino veterans have died since December in Hawai'i.

There are as many 50,000 Filipino veterans of World War II alive today. Some 10,000 are said to live in the United States, including 2,000 in Hawai'i. Most are in their 70s and 80s.

Abelina Madrid Shaw, a Hono-lulu attorney and an advocate for Filipino veterans, said lawmakers and the media seem to be paying more attention to the issue lately, perhaps because the United States is again at war.

"One cannot help but think, if they're treating our Filipino veterans this way, are they going to be treating those who go to war today like that?" Shaw said.