OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ORDERS AND MEDALS SOCIETY OF AMERICA

PRESIDENT Rolfe R Holbrook3 Coral Gables, Florida

VOL. 16 DECEMBER 1965 NO. 12

MEDALS OFTHE AWARDS OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY Part I by James W. Peterso~L

PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY MEDAL FOR VALOR

The Philippine Constabulary was organized by the American govern- men~ soon after the Spanish-American War, as an armed police force com- posed mostly of American military officers, and American and Filipino enlisted men. For more than 30 years this little-kno~ military force maintained order in the Philippine Islands, conducting frequent cam- paigns against rebellious More tribesmen and outlaw bands.

The decorations and medals of the Constabulary are equally little- known. From Dr. Goodwin’s photographs of the A.N.S. collection, we are able co presenz an illustra~ion of the highest, and apparently the ear- liest, of these awards, the Philippine Constabulary Medal for Valor. The daze of es~ablishmen~ of this rare decoration has not been de- termined, but the first seven awards were published in General Orders of 1902o As of 31 December 1932, only 64 had been awarded. The citations in General Orders of all these awards have been published in "THE MEDAL FOR VALOR, TTIE DISTINGUISHED CONDUCT STAR, THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE STAR; WIT!{ APPENDICES ON OTHER CONSTABULARY DECORATIONS AND CAMPAIGN MEDALS, AUGUST 8, 1901 to DECEMBER 31, 1932", by Major Emanuel A. Baja, 1933.

This decoration was obviously based on the UoS. , and was continued with a changed design but on the same ribbon by the Phil- ippine Commonwealth and then by the Philippine Republic. The cross is presumably of bronze, and "bears the seal of the U.S. Occupation Forces in the Philippines and the P.C. monogram of the Philippine Constabulary. The ribbon is red with white szars.

PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY TWENTY YEAR SERVICE MEDAL This previously unpublished medal is mentioned in Philippine Con- stabulary Regulations of 1930, but may have been established earlier. It is obviously a forerunner of the Long Service Medals of the Philip- pine Commonwealth and Philippine Republic. The specimen illustrated was photographed by Dr. Goodwin in the A.N.S. Museum collection. It is presumably of bronze and the ribbon is probably red, as on the currenz Republic award. The szar on the ribbon is not mentioned in the 1930 regulations, but is currently awarded for each additional 5 years of servlce.

PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY WORLD WAR VICTORY MEDAL Collec~ors have considered their Victory Medal collections to be complete when they finally manage to assemble all of the 14 known Vic- tory Medals, although few of them ever find the elusive Brazilian medal, the status of which seems ~o be in some doubt. However, we now present an illustration, from Dr. Ooodwin’s photos of the A.N.S. Museum collec- tion, of an even more rare medal which may properly belong in this ser- ies. This medal is described in Paragraph 388-a of Philippine Constab- ulary Regulations of 1930, although it may have been originally estab- lished az an earlier date: "A bronze World-War Victory Medal of the same size and weight as the Victory Medal is authorized for award to officers and enlisted men of the Philippine Constabulary who actively served during the World War between April 6, 1917 and Nov- ember Ii, 1918, inclusive. "On the obverse of the medal is a figure of a Winged Victqry in re- lief. The figure grasps in her right hand a sword, pointing do~Tnward. In her left hand is a sprig of laurel, raised aloft. Beyond, to the right of the figure, is a smoking volcano; on the left is the rising sun. Above is the inscription ’For Service’ and below ’The World War, 1917-1918’. TOP - Th ..... dal of Valor (:[eft) and the 9h~enty Year Service Cross (right) both photographed by Dr. Goodwin in the American Numismatic Soci- ety Collection in New York° BOTTOM - The Medal of Valor in the Iloneyman Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum in Los Angeles. The reverse shows the mar!: of "Chrispulo Zamora"° Photos by G. C. Krug.