World War II veteran and California native Robert Fong, 94, was awarded the Bronze Star on Sunday by the U.S. Army for his efforts during the liberation of the Philippines in 1945.
Rear Adm. Jonathan A. Yuen presented Mr. Fong with the award in a small ceremony held at the State Capitol Building in Sacramento attended by friends, family, and fellow veterans.
Mr. Fong had previously been awarded the Philippine Liberation Ribbon W/1 Bronze Star as well as the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal W/1 Bronze Star. The Bronze Star is the fourth-highest individual honor awarded by the U.S. military.
Key Battleground in the Pacific Theater: The Philippines
Retaking the Philippines was a priority for U.S. Forces operating in the Pacific Theater of WWII. The Philippines had been a U.S. territory before the war, but shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan invaded.
Vastly outgunned U.S. and Filipino forces attempted to repel the invasion, and even succeeded in delaying Japan’s advance for almost 100 days, but were soon overwhelmed and either withdrew from the islands or were captured.
For almost three years, the Philippines endured a harsh and brutal occupation at the hands of Imperial Japan; including the Bataan Death March, where it is believed that thousands of American and Filipino prisoners were killed as they were forced to march, malnourished, 65 miles to prison camps on the other side of the country.
After a string of decisive victories in the Pacific, U.S. forces finally returned to the Philippines on Oct. 20, 1944 but it would take nearly 10 months before Luzon, the last island to be controlled by Japan, was liberated by U.S. forces, though Japanese holdouts continued to harass American troops until the official end of the war.
Honored for Exemplary Service in the Philippines
Mr. Fong participated in liberation efforts in Manilla and it is here where he earned his third Bronze Star, acting as a “runner” and exchanging written messages between U.S. positions under Japanese control in lieu of compromised radio communications.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.