US Embassy, in partnership with Department of National Defense and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, conferred the Congressional Gold Medal to 38 Filipino World War II Veterans, 13 of whom are living awardees, in ceremonies held at the Army Training and Doctrine Command in Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac.

Honorees include five Aetas who were recognized for their contribution in fighting the invaders during World War II.

Today’s awarding ceremony is the 24th conducted in the Philippines since 2018 with a total of 704 Filipino World War II veteran recipients to date. 

The Congressional Gold Medal  is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It seeks to honor those, individually or as a group, “who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient’s field long after the achievement.”