San Francisco, California — The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco recently welcomed a bronze bas-relief of Filipino World War II hero Magdalena Leones. The artwork, created by Colorado-based Fil-Am sculptor Elaine Antonio Bordeaux, was presented to Consul General Neil Ferrer.
This piece, which debuted during Bordeaux’s art exhibit at the Philippine Center in July 2024, now joins the consulate’s Sentro Rizal Museum collection. The bas-relief pays tribute to Leones’s remarkable contributions during World War II, where her intelligence-gathering efforts and transport of critical equipment earned her the prestigious Silver Star Medal. She remains the only Asian to have received this distinguished honor for combat valor from the U.S. Armed Forces.
Magdalena Leones spent her later years in the Bay Area and passed away in Richmond in 2016. Her final resting place is at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in the Philippines, cementing her legacy as a national hero.
The consulate expressed gratitude for the donation and stressed its importance in preserving the memory of Filipino heroes for future generations.
