WWII New Mexico Bataan Defenders 200th Coast Artillery Corps (Anti Aircraft) Medal

Only 6 states awarded medals to its citizens for service in World War II. Of these 6 states, New Mexico limited the medal to only the members of the 200th or 515th Coast Artillery,who had defended and then surrendered on Bataan in the Philippine Islands. The medal was presented to either the surviving veterans or to their next of kin. The medal is a slot brooch suspension with the ribbon showing mild soiling. The medal obverse bears the insignia of both the 200th Coast Artillery and the 515th Coast Artillery, the latter being a unit that was activated in late December of 1941 at Manila in the Phlippine Islands, using personnel from the 200th Coast Artillery. As to the 200th Coast Artillery, the following information appears on the internet: “The 200th, whose personnel virtually all spoke fluent Spanish, were chosen to go to the Philippines in the summer of 1941, and arrived there in September 1941. Upon arrival, this anti-aircraft unit was assigned to USAFFE and ordered to provide air defenses for Clark Field, while based at Fort Stotsenburg, although they were not attached to the Philippine Coast Artillery Command. It surrendered 9 April 1942 to the Japanese 14th Army.”