What is the most badass thing anyone has ever done?

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Be a beauty queen then apply lipstick and manicure your nails before going to battle against the imperial Japanese forces of World War II.

That woman is Kumander Liwayway or Commander Dawn otherwise known as Remedios Gomez-Paraiso. She was a beauty queen in her home province, but, when the Japanese invaded the Philippines and her father was killed by them, she joined the rebel forces at the age of 22 to fight the invaders.

She quickly rose to the ranks and became a commander who led troops that gave the Japanese some serious bouts of headache. There was a planned attack against the Japanese once, but her superiors ordered the rebels to retreat. She refused and led her troops to battle and killed allegedly more than 200 Japanese soldiers.

But that was not the most bad-ass thing about her. Before going to battle, she was known to groom herself first: combing her hair as neatly as she could, dressing in lady’s garments, manicuring her nails and applying nail polish, and wearing lipstick! She wore red lipstick a lot.

Despite seeming to be outrageous, her antics were actually a boost to her troops’ morale:

“At the top of the Camansi plateau, the guerrillas were ready and just waiting for the appearance of the Japanese soldiers. Ka Li (Paraiso) was observed by her group that she looked different at that time because she was fully made up with matching bright red lipstick and her hair was well-combed.
Her troops were surprised to see their commander so dressed up, as if she was going to a social function. But in the current situation, her men pictured her as a fearless and courageous leader unafraid to die. Her appearance inspired her men and motivated them to fight harder.”

That was from the book, ‘Kumander Liwayway: Joan of Ark of the Philippines’,written by her brother, Andrew Gomez.

Her comrades even confronted her asking why she was wearing bright red lipstick to which she marvellously responded:

One of the things I am fighting for in the Huk [guerrilla group] movement is the right to be myself.

She even challenged one of her comrades to a duel once when he was making sexual innuendos to her and she felt disrespected.

She led her troops to more battles against the Japanese during the war and she said that they dealt the invaders major casualties. She died in 2014 at the age of 95.

She was a feminine warrior who was proud to be a woman.