Philippine Air Force's Finest
United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold asked the Philippine government to send a tactical air squadron to neutralize secessionists in the Congo. In 1963, the PAF sent “Limbas†Squadron (later became 9th TFS) led by Lt Col Jose Rancudo, to join the UN Peacekeeping forces to the troubled Congo. Filipino, Swedish, Iranian fighter units and an Ethiopian air transport contingent secured the airspace over the Congo and neutralized the rebel activity which marked the end of the fatal civil war. This merited the “Limbas†Squadron the United Nations Service Medal for putting their lives on the line in service of the people.
