It's taken place under other circumstances in the US forces as well. For that matter, the Roman army did it too.
Hekate
http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/filipinos.htmBACKGROUND
President William McKinley signed an executive order in 1901 allowing the Navy to enlist 500
Filipinos as part of the insular force. Secretary of the Navy John D. Long signed General Order
No. 40, 8 April 1901, promulgating the executive order.
Prior to 1946, Filipinos were generally assigned to steward duties....
CITIZENSHIP
Under the Nationality Act of 1940, aliens who served honorably in the armed forces for three
years or more could be naturalized as US citizens without having to meet certain normal
requirements of naturalization such as lawful admission into the United States for permanent
residence. The Nationality Act of 1940, however, was repealed on 27 June 1952, effective 24
December 1952 by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 USC 1101 et seq) which
contains many provisions similar to those of the 1940 Act, but in the case of an alien who served
honorably in the armed forces for three years requires that he shall have been lawfully admitted
for permanent residence. Under this law, aliens are normally admitted for permanent residence
under the quota system.
On 26 September 1961, the Immigration and Nationality Act was amended (Public Law 87-301) to
grant, among other things, to veterans of the Korean Conflict the same naturalization benefits that
had been granted to veterans of World War I and World War II. Under this Act, members of the
armed forces who served in World War I, World War II, or the Korean Conflict (25 June 1950 to
1 July 1955) need not be lawfully admitted for permanent residence in order to qualify for
naturalization provided they had been enlisted or reenlisted in the United States, Canal Zone,
American Samoa, or Swains Island at any time prior thereto. Public Law 90-633, in part, ascends S
USC 1440 by extending to servicemen serving during the Vietnam conflict the same naturalization
benefits provided by the Act to those who served during the previous wars and armed conflict.
This law waives the requirement for lawful entry into the United States for permanent residence in
the United States for members who served honorably at any time from 23 February 1961, to the
end of the Vietnam conflict...... <snip>