The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award 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 an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The decoration was presented to any service member, of both Philippine Commonwealth and allied militaries, who participated in the liberation of the Philippine Islands between the dates of 17 October 1944, and 2 September 1945. A full-sized medal was authorized and added on 22 July 1945. The Philippine Liberation Medal is intended to recognize military service during the last eleven months 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

when the military of

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 n ...

was driven from the Philippines before their surrender in September 1945.

Criteria

To be awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal, a service member must have met at least one of the following criteria: * Participation in the initial landing operation of

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

and adjoining islands from 17 October to 20 October 1944. An individual is considered to have participated in such operations if he landed on Leyte or adjoining islands, was on a ship in Philippine waters, or was a crewmember of an airplane, which flew over Philippine territory during the period. * Participation in any engagement against hostile Japanese forces on Leyte and adjoining islands during the Philippine Liberation Campaign of 17 October 1944, to 2 September 1945. * Participation in any engagement against hostile Japanese forces on islands other than those mentioned above during the Philippine Liberation Campaign of 17 October 1944, to 2 September 1945. * Served in the Philippine Islands or on ships in Philippine waters for not less than 30 days during the period. Personnel who are awarded the medal for participation in any of the above-mentioned operations are authorized a bronze "

service star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or se ...

to the Philippine Liberation Medal for each additional qualifying action. Members of the United States Armed Forces included the

Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines. The Philippine Army was initially o ...

and

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

. Those members were also eligible to receive the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, often with a service star, for participation in the liberation of the Philippines.

Other information

The Philippine Liberation Medal was awarded to allied militaries, primarily the forces of the

Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

, and the military of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. The U.S. Army authorized the medal on 8 March 1948. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 2003, three former servicemen (Glyndwr Thomas Evan Collins, who fought in the World War II liberation of the Philippines, Constantine Shiels, and Frank Broomhead) were awarded the medal by the Philippine ambassador Edgardo B. Espiritu, under General Orders Number 1090. Medal for "Forgotten" Soldier
BBC News, December 03, 2003. Other similar Philippine military awards of World War II include the Philippine Independence Medal and 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 ...

References

Citations

{{Reflist

Bibliography

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

Criteria

Other information

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography