From privates to generals, the Rio Grande Valley has a rich history of military participation, including several famous (or should be famous) Silver Star heroes, P.O.W.s, and other awesome warriors, including four Medal of Honor recipients: Sgt. William George Harrell, Pvt. Pedro Cano, Sgt. José M. López, and Sgt. Freddy González.
Note: (As cool as it sounds in the movies, and although Congress bestows the award, there's no such thing as a C.M.H.) The Medal of Honor is the U.S. military's highest award, "for acts of gallantry and intrepidity." There are no "winners," but rather recipients who are awarded the MoH.
Sgt. William George Harrell, U.S.M.C.
Born: Rio Grande City; Graduated: Mercedes High School; Texas A&M
This Marine suffered greatly from his heroism, living with hooks for hands (having jumped on a grenade at Iwo Jima) and dealing with PTSD until his death in San Antonio. Read his Medal of Honor citation.
Pvt. Pedro Cano, U.S. Army
Born: General Terán, Nuevo León (Mex)/Resident of Edinburg, Texas
Though he was a Mexican citizen, Cano, like many of his peers working in the U.S., was drafted into WWII. Cano served with more than distinction, earning two Silver Star medals, a Purple Heart, and Under President Obama's request for a commission to double-check military records, indeed Cano's Distinguished Service Cross--after review--was deemed to be among those medals whose award to men who were overlooked for the Medal of Honor due to rampant racism during WWII--even in the midst of incredible bravery. Cano was awarded the medal posthumously. (He died in a car crash after the war.) Read his Medal of Honor citation.
Sgt. José M. López, U.S. Army
Born: Mexico--he didn't know where. Orphaned, he crossed the border illegally and moved to Mission, Texas, where he was taken in by a family. (Records list him as being from Brownsville, but all Valley military folks enlisted there before hopping on trains up country. Mission, Texas has a street named in his honor.)
López killed more than 100 German soldiers, single-handedly on an incredible day in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. (That's more than fellow Texan Audie Murphy--the most awarded soldier in U.S. history.) He was a former boxer and merchant marine before enlisting, as a non-U.S. citizen raised by strangers in Mission, and he went on to fame in the Army. He actually went to fight in Korea too until an officer read his record and López was removed from the war, having paid his dues as an unsung American hero. He lived out his life in San Antonio, where he earned a higher rank and he died an old man with a great grandfatherly grin. Read his Medal of Honor citation.
Sgt. Freddy González, U.S.M.C.
Edinburg, Texas
Freddy, a former Edinburg High School football team captain was likewise the big brother figure to his young Marines. He'd served his time in Vietnam, but seeing that his squad was suffering casualties, he volunteered for another tour--not required by the Marines. He didn't make it home. His mother keeps his name alive, as does a street in Edinburg, a school, and other sites in the Valley. González even made history posthumously by having the first Navy ship, a guided missile destroyer, named for a Hispanic military man (or woman) from Texas, the USS Gonzalez (DDG-66). Read his Medal of Honor citation.
Other famous military men from the Valley: (coming soon)
Col. James (Nikki) Rowe, U.S. Army, McAllen
Gen. Ricardo Sánchez, U.S. Army, Rio Grande City
1st. Sgt. Patricio Perez, U.S. Army, La Havana
Cpl. Harlon Block, U.S.M.C., Weslaco
Pvt. Saburo Tanamachi, U.S. Army, San Benito
Dolly Vinsant, U.S. Army, San Benito