The "Filipino Veterans of World War II" Congressional Gold Medal. Seventy years in the making.
Dentuck
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I’m heading to D.C. tomorrow and Wednesday to participate in ceremonies for the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal. My mother-in-law, Dr. Erlinda Rojas Santos, is accepting a bronze duplicate of the medal on behalf of her father, who was a dental surgeon with a flourishing medical practice before the Japanese invasion, volunteered in the U.S. Army in 1941, and was taken prisoner during the fighting.
A handful of surviving veterans will be present at this week's ceremonies, as well as next of kin (many of the latter already in their 60s and 70s and older).
The Treasury Department's Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, of which I'm a member, advised on the medal’s design earlier this year, so the event has multifaceted personal significance for me. It will be amazing to hold the finished medal in my hand.
The story of the Philippines' bravery in World War II, and the shabby way Filipino veterans were treated by the U.S. Congress after the war, is compelling. This Congressional Gold Medal comes 70-plus years after Congress decided it would be too expensive to include the Filipino veterans in the G.I. Bill of Rights and honor President Roosevelt's promises of expedited citizenship and regular military benefits. The Rescission Act of 1946 revoked those promises, basically telling the veterans, "You weren't fighting for the United States, even though you're a U.S. commonwealth; you were fighting for the Philippines."
I wrote an article a few months ago that tells the tale.
Comments
I was able to find proposed designs but no indication of what the final design looks like. Does anyone have an image of the actual design?
@Dentuck
Thanks for sharing this with us and update us when you return
This type of information is so much more meaningful than that which is in the media today.
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I haven't seen (or asked to see) the final design, assuming that it will be very close to the designs preferred by the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project. This was the set of designs recommended (with slight modifications to the uniforms and positioning of the men) to the Secretary of the Treasury by the CCAC.
A note of interest: We recommended to the Secretary that the Mint create the bronze medal with an antiqued or patinated finish, instead of the usual flat golden-bronze normally seen these days on the Mint's bronze medals. I can't wait to see if they were able to follow through --- fingers crossed!
The last 3'' US Mint medal with antiqued finish was the Yosemite Centennial medal, at least that I can recall. That was the early 1990s. There have been a couple miniature medals (1.5'') with the antiqued finish including the Yosemite, Colin Powell, Pursian Gulf, and Pearl Harbor. If they do choose to antique the medals, hopefully their techniques have improved since then!
What prompted this recommendation?
A general desire for innovation! With "innovation" in quotes, of course, because it would actually be a return to older styles, as you mentioned.
Here's part of the transcript from our June 21, 2017, meeting in Washington. I was speaking to Don Everhart. This was at Don's last public meeting of the CCAC, before he retired from the Mint as a sculptor-engraver.
MR. TUCKER: And finally, a technical question, and this
would be for the Mint's production, Don, is there
any way that these medals could be produced with
an antiquing or patination rather than just a flat
bronze surface?
MR. EVERHART: I'm glad you brought that up.
I'd really like to see that on all of our medals.
I think it's part of the process that needs to be
completed to really make it -- make the medal a
complete statement. So, yeah, I would make note
of that.
MR. TUCKER: I think it would add a lot to the
design and then to the look and feel of the medal.
It's really a traditional approach to professional
medal craft, although people today might not
recognize it as such because we're used to seeing
just a flat --
MR. EVERHART: But it also enhances the
relief. It kind of outlines it and the
oxidization process allows them to go into areas
of relief. And then the areas that are up above
or higher like (indiscernible) so you get a lot
more definition and form than you would if it's
not the (indiscernible).
MR. TUCKER: Madam Chair, when the time comes,
I would like either myself or someone else to make
a motion that that be recommended to the Mint.
It will be interesting to see the final product. I have several Filipino friends and they are looking forward to this issue. Cheers, RickO