Ferdinand E. Marcos
Philippine Army & President of the Philippines 1965–1986

Background
Ferdinand E. Marcos was born September 11, 1917 at Bario 2 San Agustin, Sarrat in Batac in Ilocos Norte Province on Luzon in the Philippines.

Wartime History
Marcos was an officer in the Philippine Army. During the Pacific War he served in the defense of Bataan. After the surrender of Allied forces, he survived the Bataan Death March and was detained at Camp O'Donnell and suffered water torture (water boarding) from the Imperial Japanese Army Kempei Tai (Military Police). Afterwards, he established a courier system between the guerrilla forces.

Marcos wrote:
"Thinking of Bataan, I recall how war could clarify the great question for the average soldier, questions of life and death and the purpose of existence. In the face of death there was a greater illumination about these things. The soldier in Bataan knew that he had created to die any moment because his dignity as a man and as a Filipino exacted this obligation. The soldier fights as a moral being. In the face of death, self-respect grips him. No one shoots for medals or for honors in the moment of action; he shoots at the enemy and he shoots to destroy and all the time he warrants his own life to what he believes in. The soldier has already accepted the unthinkable."

Memorials
Marcos' wartime service is honored on a wall in the Marcos Museum and Mausoleum (Ferdinand E. Marcos Presidential Center) in Batac. For his World War II service, Marcos was decorated for his World War II service including the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Medal For Valor, Gold Cross with Second Bronze Anahaw Leaf, Silver Star, Distinguished Conduct Medal with Bronze Anahaw Leaf and Second Bronze Anahaw Leaf.

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)
For extraordinary heroism in action on or about January 18, 1942.

Medal For Valor
Extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in a suicidal action against overwhelming Japanese forces at the junction of the Salian River and Abo-Abo River, Bataan on or about January 22, 1942, while serving as combat intelligence officer of the 21st (Lightning) Division, Philippine Army USAFFE.

Gold Cross with Second Bronze Anahaw Leaf
Earned for gallantry in action against Japanese forces at the Pilar - Bagac defense line in Bataan on April 5, 1942 while serving as combat intelligence officer of the 21st Division, Philippine Army, USAFFE.

Silver Star
Gallantry in Action against Japanese February 1942 in Bataan, Philippines as assistant G-2 21st Division, Philippine Army

Distinguished Conduct Medal
Conspicuous courage and gallantry in action against Japanese forces at Camp O'Donnell and the Japanese Kempei Tai, Fort Santiago, Manila 1942 for refusing to divulge vital intelligence information in spite subjection to the most inhumanable of torture.

Distinguished Conduct Medal with Bronze Anahaw Leaf
Conspicuous courage and gallantry in the face of Japanese forces at Panufoupan, Kiangan, Mountain province 17 March 1945 while attached to the Infantry USAFFA NL as 5-5.

Distinguished Conduct Medal with Second Bronze Anahaw Leaf
Outstanding achievement as a guerrilla and ? leader in supporting General Limali, organizing ? of president Quezon ? August, 1944.

Memorials
Marcos passed away on September 28, 1989 of kidney, heart, and lung ailments at age 72 in Honolulu. After his death, Aquino government refused to allow Marcos's body to be brought back to the Philippines and instead his body was interred in a private mausoleum at Byodo-In Temple on Oahu. Four years later, under President Fidel Ramos his body was allowed to be repatriated to the Philippines.

Between 1993 until 2016, his remains were interred inside a refrigerated crypt in Ilocos Norte, where his son, Ferdinand Jr., and eldest daughter, Imee, have since become the local governor and congressional representative.

Afterwards, a large bust of Ferdinand Marcos was commissioned by the tourism minister Jose Aspiras, and carved into a hillside in Benguet Province but was mysteriously destroyed in 2002. Theories include d left-wing activists, locals displaced by construction or treasure hunters searching for "Yamashita's Gold"."

On November 18, 2016, his remains were flown to  Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB, Cemetery of the Heroes) despite opposition. A Philippines Supreme Court ruling allowed 15 days for the opposition to file a motion for reconsideration with the population at the time split roughly in half about having him buried with honor versus acknowledge as a dictator. Regardless, on November 18, 2016 a Philippine Armed Forces (PAF) helicopters flew his remains from Ilocos Norte to Manila for a private burial attended by his family and roughly a hundred supporters.

References
FindAGrave - Ferdinand Marcos (photo, grave photos)