The Philippine Independence Medal is a

military award Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medal ...

and decoration of the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

which was created by order of the Philippine Army Headquarters on 3 July 1946 as the Philippine Independence Ribbon. The medal was added in 1968. The medal recognizes those members of the military who had participated in multiple Philippine Commonwealth military operations during the years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Award criteria

To be awarded the Philippine Independence Medal, a service member must have previously received both the

Philippine Defense Medal The Philippine Defense Medal is a military award and decoration of the Republic of the Philippines which is awarded to recognize the initial resistance against Japanese invasion between the dates of 8 December 1941 and 15 June 1942. The award was ...

and the

Philippine Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The d ...

(authority for wear must be recorded before 24 November 1954). The award criteria effectively awarded the medal to anyone who had participated in both the initial resistance against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese invasion and also in the campaigns to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation from October 1944 to September 1945. The decoration was also authorized for award to the United States and other foreign militaries, with a number of retroactive awards presented between 1945 and 1948. A famous American recipient was General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. The Philippine Independence Medal was originally awarded as a

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

only, and it was not until 1968, that a full-sized medal was authorized and added by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

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Notable recipients

* Ramon A. Alcaraz * Frank A. Armstrong *

Donald Blackburn Brigadier General Donald Dunwody Blackburn (September 14, 1916 – May 24, 2008) was a United States Army Special Forces officer, best known for his significant command and developmental roles in the U.S. Army Special Forces. He was also the comm ...

Jose Calugas Jose Cabalfin Calugas (December 29, 1907 – January 18, 1998) was a member of the Philippine Scouts during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Bataan. At the age of 23, Calugas joined the Philippine Sc ...

* Edwin A. Doss * Richard W. Fellows *

Leslie Fernandez Captain Leslie Percival Fernandez OBE, MM, C de G, (22 March 1918 – 16 July 2009) was an English army officer in Special Forces during the Second World War who had risen from the ranks. He was notable for having trained Violette Szabó, ...

Wendell Fertig Wendell Fertig (December 16, 1900 – March 24, 1975)Brooks 2003, p. 37. was an American civil engineer, in the American-administered Commonwealth of the Philippines, who organized and commanded an American-Filipino guerrilla force on the Jap ...

* Harold K. Johnson *

Emilio S. Liwanag Captain Emilio S. Liwanag (March 27, 1911 – April 12, 1967) was an officer in the Philippine Navy who served during the World War II, Second World War and the Korean War. He started his military career as a 3rd Lieutenant with the 3rd Light In ...

* Paul J. Mueller * Emmett O'Donnell, Jr. *

Lorenzo Sabin Lorenzo Sherwood Sabin, Jr. (1899–1988) was a career naval officer who rose to become a Vice Admiral and NATO’s Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. He served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean Conflict, led maj ...

Manuel F. Segura Manuel Felimon Segura (January 1, 1919 – November 27, 2013) was a colonel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with assigned serial number 0-3547 AFP. He was G-1 and adjutant general in the General Headquarters of the Cebuano people, Cebu ...

Arthur D. Simons Arthur D. "Bull" Simons (June 28, 1918 – May 21, 1979) was a United States Army Special Forces colonel best known for leading the Sơn Tây raid, an attempted rescue of U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War from a North Vietnamese p ...

* Jonathan M. Wainwright (general)

References

Citations

{{Reflist, 1

Bibliography

* The AFP Adjutant General, ''AFP Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1995, 1997, OTAG. Military awards and decorations of the Philippines

Award criteria

Notable recipients

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography