PHLpost Col. Jesus Villamor - World War II Pilot and Ace

PHL POST on 9 April 1973 issued a First Day Cover honouring Col. Jesus Villamor, World War II Pilot and Ace. Two stamps with different values were offered, showing him a dogfight with Japanese aircraft. A total of 1,000,000 were printed.

Col. Jesús Antonio Villamor (1914 – 1971) was a Filipino-American pilot, spy, and Medal of Valor awardee who fought the Japanese in World War II, served during the Korean War and Vietnam War for the CIA.

WWII  Exploits during Japanese Invasion of Philippines
Villamor lead the 6th Pursuit Squadron shortly before the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in December 1941. In the skies above Zablan and Batangas Fields, against Japanese Zeros, his squadron of P-26 fighters engaged the enemy. Despite numerical and mechanical disadvantages, Villamor and his squadron was credited with four kills: one Mitsubishi G3M bomber and three Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes. Two of them were personally shot down by Villamor himself. For leading his squadron and for his two confirmed kills, Villamor was twice cited by the United States Army for bravery, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for actions on 10 December 1941 and an Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a second award of the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for actions on 12 December 1941. Viillamor is the only Filipino to receive the DSC twice.