So the letter was given to my great-grandfather who lived in a really small town in Portugal. Since the Portuguese weren't even directly engaged in the conflict and my ancestor as a regular guy who worked for the government (who was a dictatorship btw, and pretty much kept to itself not even allowing American products like coca-cola to come in...) I have no idea what he did to deserve such a commendation.
Do anyone here has seen letters like this one, or know if they are common and what people might have done to deserve one?
Was he involved in the evacuation of Gibraltarians to Madeira?
Presumably your great-grandfather helped the Allies in some way.