Meanwhile, shortly after the country's independence in 1946, the Americans reached an agreement with the islands that allowed them to recruit Philippine citizens directly into the U.S. Navy, mainly as stewards, for which there was "an urgent need" during the Korean War, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command website. Soon the agreement was amended to specify that at least 2,000 Filipino men enter the Navy each year, and the program continued through the 1990s.