Ferdinand Marcos and Stolen Valor
Ferdinand Marcos in 1982
Ferdinand Marcos, the previous president of the Philippines, is back in the news for claims of Stolen Valor.
Ferdinand Marcos’ military claims have long been in dispute. The biggest controversy arising from Marcos’ service during World War II, was that of his claims during the 1962 Senatorial Campaign of being “most decorated war hero of the Philippines.” He claimed to have been the recipient of 33 war medals and decorations, including the U.S. medals of the Distinguished Service Cross and the Medal of Honor. Researchers later found that stories about the wartime exploits of Marcos were mostly propaganda, being inaccurate or untrue.
Now Buddy Gomez of ABS*CBN writes that Marcos’ claims were the most egregious in Philippine history.
Exemplar of Stolen Valor: 3rd Lt. F.E. Marcos
“Stolen valor” is a term that applies to a phenomenon of fraudulence in the military, involving false claims of service, rank, awards and decorations.
I have yet to come across an instance more egregious than what Philippine history can attest to. Neither can anybody else. Let me proceed then with renewed perspectives, as I continue to dare Imelda Marcos and her revisionist hallucinations to dispute history’s unflappable, irrefutable veracities.
…
The book continues: “….as though determined to win the war alone, Marcos was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor,” but ….“Had the papers not been lost in the last days of Bataan, Marcos would have been the only Filipino army officer to win the United States’ highest valor award in the Bataan campaign.”
When the Washington Post exposed Marcos’ fake medals (“The Marcos Mystery: Did the Philippine Leader Really Win US Medals for Valor?” December 18, 1983), Marcos very angrily rebutted with threats of criminal and civil action, issuing a book: “Documents on the Marcos War Medals,” with dozens of Annexes. Annex “D” was a document dated ‘3 April 1942’ purportedly accomplished “In the Field” and marked as signed by “/s/t/ MATEO CAPINPIN Commanding General (PA).” Lo and behold! These were “the papers….lost in the last days of Bataan,” earlier cited. “Recommendation for Award of the Congressional Medal of Honor!” supposedly reconstructed, attested and sworn to on “14th day of June 1946 in Camp Murphy in Quezon City.”
Because of war wounds claimed to have been sustained in Bataan, Marcos was awarded the “Purple Heart,” according to him! The “Purple Heart” is a solemn heroism decoration awarded to soldiers who have been wounded or killed. There exists a database, a Roll of Honor for Purple Heart recipients. Apart from what I already knew about Marcos’ claim to war wounds, I inquired from the Military Personnel Records Office in St. Louis, Missouri some years back. I received an official confirmation that there is no “Ferdinand E. Marcos” listed in the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
I have to say that the last statement seems a bit odd. The Records Office in St. Louis would be able to say if he has a Purple Heart or not, but I don’t believe they keep records of who is a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Category: Politics, Purple Heart
Hack Stone recalls reading a newspaper (tells you how long ago that was) where an American reporter was waiting to interview Ferdinand Marcos, and to pass the time he looked at a display of his “military decorations”. He noticed a Medal Of Honor among those decorations. He did some research, and found no record of Marcos being awarded a MOH. Forty years later and they are just talking about it now?
I imagine All-Points Logistics will be opening an international branch in the Philippines in the coming years.
Mr. Marcos here has that “Phildoesque” quality about him.
The False Commander “Phony” Phil Monkress (CEO of All-Points Logistics) would be a fool to let this opportunity pass.
“Had” might be a better way to phrase that, GT. Ferdinand Marcsos has been dead since Sep 1989. (smile)
Good point.
That is why he is immortalized in the All-Points Logistics Hall of Honor.
“He’s a -late- tyrant!”
“He’s just resting.”
Geez, Marcos is still alive and quacking? Does Imelda still have a closet just for her shoes?
Ex-PH2,
Phony Pherdinand took his phuckery to the grave at age 72,
31 years ago, in Hawaii.
Imelda lives, age 91.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos
More….
Imelda Marcos taught a generation of Filipinas
that you can WIN with LIES and GREED.
Many of these females found US GIs.
Some sold themselves.
Others rented themselves out.
Some are in the USA today,
but few are married to the GIs they originally met in PI.
Many a clock was cleaned.
Politics and an erupting volcano
saved a LOT of younger GIs from the same fate.
Ask ol’ Jesse “I ain’t got time to bleed” Ventura about is “Viet Nam theater”-service adventures at Olongapo.
Ah Olongapo! What a magical place for a 19 year old Marine! On the way back to Okinawa on the USS Denver, a shipload of broke, smiling Marines. Memories!
How magical could it have been, if those young Girenes were broke? I thought the only way one could get those bar girls to “lub you long time” was with a wallet full of greenbacks.
I don’t remember this place. Must have been on Magsaysay. I stayed strictly on Gordon or I headed straight to the Barrio or Subic City.
I seem to remember the bar fines on Magsaysay were at least double what they were in other parts of Olongapo.
Anyway, was it on Magsaysay?
Learned early:
Via’s for tacos and lumpia, then the one free beer at Slim’s, THEN head out to Bo. Barretto.
Retired SK owned several places there, including Island Girls and Gilligan’s Island.
Skimmer pukes walked in, but rarely walked out.
Ah, Via’s! A step up from the “mystery meat” sold by the street vendors.
Had lunch at Via’s one day with some friends. One of them ordered beef tacos. Waitress disappeared into the kitchen and the next thing we heard was a dog yelping.
I’m SURE it was just a coincidence, but my bud’s appetite was decreased a bit.
I had a blast in the PI. I was always TAD there which I’m grateful for. I never would have survived a PCS tour!
What a horrible exploitation of women.
I can’t believe our guys can go to a place like that after all the endless hours ordered by Pentagon on SHARP, EO, and human trafficking.
By the way, only one of those girls know how to dance that song.
MarineDad, have I got a whopper of a story from the PI.
One day I was on a Jeepney on Gordon Avenue in Olongapo headed out to the Barrio Barreto.
A Sailor and his blushing bride got on the Jeepney and sat across from me.
I was with a few shipmates and said Sailor couldn’t contain his excitement at how ecstatic that he and his absolutely stunning Filipina bride had just got married. Like an hour before. I’ve never seen a guy so happy.
As I was pondering whether I would ever meet such a girl, I felt something against my leg. I looked down and there was said blushing bride’s very pretty foot rubbing very definitely up and down my leg. It was not an accident.
I looked up and met the gaze of this “lady” and to this day I still remember how her eyes just bored into my soul. I’ll tell you she had some real bedroom eyes and I was the one meant for the sheets.
To this day, I wonder whether I should have pointed this out to this guy, but I console myself knowing that he probably found out pretty quickly on his own. He must have been shattered.
My faith in humanity sure took a hit that day. The lessons to be had when you crossed over Shit River!
MustangCryppie,
Wow.
Geez.
“Rich”, my 1st Air Force duty Sr.NCO (E-7) at my 1st base in Germany (1984), told his PI stories (early 70s) 1 night after drinking.
(1) Rich went to mud wrestling night at some bar.
On wagers, he joined the girls in the mud,
and then stripped down to his underwear.
Then the Navy SPs rolled in, and hauled everyone out.
He remembers yelling from mud pit to paddy wagon
“Where’s my wallet? I want my wallet.”
(2) Rich was invited to the formal annual Navy Ball.
Single, he sat at a mixed table of Air Force, Navy, and Marines. The last Marine to the table showed up with a stunning PI babe date.
The Marine introduced her to the table, brimming with pride.
Not 10 minutes later, Rich went to the men’s room for #2, and when he came out of the stall,
in came the Marine’s stunning date (into the Men’s room!), who promptly walked to the urinals, hiked it up, whipped it out, and peed like a man.
Yes, Rich told everyone ELSE at the table.
The now dashed Marine took her out the front door,
and neither were seen again.
BWAHAHA! On the Benny boy.
A shipmate of mine was given a birthday present of a date with a gorgeous lady in Pattaya. The giftors sat in the corner of the bar watching the show while my shipmate got to “know” his date. Heavy petting ensued resulting in much hilarity at the corner table. The fun ended when the birthday boy did a quick recce of the nether regions. Surprise! Surprise!
I remember that bar with the mud wrestling. It was in the Barrio Barretto. Owned by a naval officer IIRC. Can’t remember the name though.
Well, hell! And here I was thinking that Ol’ “Dugout Doug” was the most decorated war hero of the PI. IMHO neither one of them would make a pimple on the azz of the lowest ranking Service Member that was part of The March…and the Horrors that followed.
Maybe Marcos wanted as many medals as his wife had shoes? Thought that was a trademark of South American Dick-taters?
@ Ex-PH2 – from Wikipedia: – Ferdinand Marcos – Born: September 11, 1917, Sarrat, Philippines – Died: September 28, 1989, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States(thankfully, deader than Monty Python’s parrot!). – Imelda Romualdez Marcos (born Imelda Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician, a convicted criminal and complete waste of skin who was First Lady of the Philippines for 21 years,during which she and her husband stole billions from the Filipino people, amassing a personal fortune estimated to have been worth US$5 billion to 10 billion by the time they were deposed in 1986(waste of skin comment – mine). Exile in Hawaii (1986–1991) At midnight, February 26, 1986, the Marcos family fled the country to Hawaii[22] with a party of about 80 individuals – the extended Marcos family and a number of close associates. Return from exile (1991–present) On November 4, 1991, Imelda and her children were allowed to return to the Philippines by President Corazon Aquino after living in exile in Hawaii for more than five years.[114][115] After her return from exile, the former First Lady Imelda quickly established herself in the political scene of the Philippines. In later years, she also attempted to establish business in the world of fashion. In 1992, Imelda ran for president in the 1992 Philippine presidential election, finishing 5th out of 7 candidates. She was elected as a congresswoman of Leyte during the 1995 Philippine general election, representing the first district, despite facing a disqualification lawsuit in which the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. She sought the presidency again in the 1998 Philippine presidential election, but later withdrew to support the eventual winner Joseph Estrada while she finished 9th among 11 candidates. She was also “tempted” to run for mayor of Manila in the 2001 Philippine general election but did not push through with it. Imelda ran for the second district of Ilocos Norte in the 2010 Philippine House of Representatives elections to replace her son, Ferdinand Jr., who ran for Senate under the Nacionalista Party. During her term, she held the position of Millennium Development Goals chairwoman in the Lower… Read more »
Ol’ Poe is shocked…shocked I tell you…that a politician who is a lawer would misrepresent his military service.
Such a travesty is absolutely unprecedented…😜😜😜
The Beatles called them out…. Ferd AND Imelda,
years after getting manhandled AND ransomed (of their concert pay)
AFTER playing in Manila,
and then NOT attending a command breakfast with Imelda afterwards.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-imelda-marcos/
The Wicked Witch of the Southeast
is alive, age 91.
Phony Defender and Phony Enabler Imelda Marcos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imelda_Marcos
Olongapo? Kids diving for change in Shit River? Gordon Ave.? Rosie’s? Jeepney’s? San Miguel? Lumpia?—-? I recall some of the ’60’s—-through a haze..
Does he have a NDSM?