Vicente Lim

Brigadier General Vicente P. Lim
Portrait of Brigadier General Vicente Lim by Vicente Manansala
Born	(1888-02-24)February 24, 1888 Calamba, Laguna, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	December 31, 1944(1944-12-31) (aged 56) Manila Chinese Cemetery
Monuments	Camp General Vicente P. Lim, Calamba, Laguna Philippine one thousand peso bill Vicente Lim Hall, Philippine Military Academy, Baguio Vicente Lim (statue), Roxas Boulevard, Manila Philippine postage stamps (first issued on August 22, 1982)
Nationality	Filipino
Education	Philippine Normal School United States Military Academy (Class of 1914)
Known for	Filipino World War II hero Commanding General, 41st Infantry Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE) First Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point Featured on Philippine ₱1,000 bill
Spouse(s)	Pilar Hidalgo-Lim
Children	Luis (son) Roberto (son) Vicente Jr. (son) Patricio (son) Eulalia (daughter) Maria (daughter)
Military career
Allegiance	Philippines  United States of America
Service/branch	Philippine Scouts, US Army Philippine Army
Years of service	1910 – 1944/5
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (retired in 1936) Brigadier General, Philippine Army (1936–1944)
Unit	45th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Scouts, US Army 41st Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE)
Commands held	Chief, War Plans Division, Philippine Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Philippine Army Commanding General, 41st Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE)
Battles/Wars	World War I World War II * Battle of Bataan
Awards	Legion of Merit Purple Heart Distinguished Conduct Star Distinguished Service Star Distinguished Long Service Star Posthumous honorary rank of Lieutenant General
Website	www.facebook.com/generalvicentelim

Vicente Podico Lim (February 24, 1888 – December 31, 1944) was a Filipino Brigadier General and hero during World War II. Lim was the first Filipino graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1914). Prior to the establishment of the Philippine Army, he served as an officer in the Philippine Scouts (a now-defunct component of the US Army). During the Battle of Bataan, Lim was the Commanding General of the 41st Infantry Division, Philippine Army (USAFFE). After the fall of the Philippines he contributed to the Filipino resistance movement until he was captured and subsequently executed.

Lim was one of the seven Charter Members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He is memorialized in the Philippines' 1,000-Peso banknote together with two other Filipino heroes who fought and died against the Japanese during the Second World War.

Vicente Lim was born on February 24, 1888 in the town of Calamba, Laguna, and was the third of Jose Ayala Lim-Yaoco and Antonia Podico's four children. His father was a full-blooded Chinese migrant who braided his hair in a queue. His mother, Antonia Podico, was a Chinese mestiza. Jose Lim died when Vicente was just nine years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his three siblings from the earnings of a small business. Vicente and the other Lim children, Joaquin, Olympia and Basilisa, like many offspring of Filipino-Chinese marriages, grew up identifying themselves with the Filipino rather than the Chinese community.

Among the friends of Jose Lim and Antonia Podico was the family of José Rizal, who was later recognized as the Philippines’ national hero. The Lim Family, like the Rizal Family, leased land owned by the Dominican Order: rice lands in Barrios Lecheria and Real and sugar land in Barrio Barandal. In 1891, recurring disputes between the Spanish administrators of the Dominican estate and the tenants over rental rates and conditions came to a head and resulted in the eviction of many tenants from their lands. Among the victims were the Lim and Rizal families.