Oldest Hispanic Medal Of Honor Winner Dies In S.A.

Jose M. Lopez, a World War II veteran who won the Medal of Honor for single-handedly killing more than 100 German soldiers in a single skirmish, died Monday at age 94.

Lopez won the nation's highest military honor for his heroics during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. He was the oldest living Hispanic Medal of Honor recipient and among a dwindling group of such winners from World War II.

Lopez had been hospitalized for several weeks while being treated for cancer. This month he returned to the home of his daughter, Maggie Wickwire, where he died.

His health had been in decline in recent years, but Lopez visited Washington in January for President Bush's second inauguration.

On Dec. 17, 1944, Lopez was a sergeant in the Army's 2nd Infantry Division serving in Belgium when a superior force of German infantry and armor advanced on his company's position.

Lopez, born in Mission, jumped into a shallow hole with his heavy machine gun and killed 10 German soldiers, according to his Medal of Honor citation issued in 1945.

In the face of enemy tank fire, the document said, he held his position and shot 25 more German infantrymen trying to get around his flank. He later took another position and continuing firing to slow down enemy forces while his comrades retreated.

More info, from 2000:

http://www.utexas.edu/projects/latinoarchives/narratives/07Lopez_Jose.html

LaGuardia at the dock

When Jose M. Lopez returned from Europe, he was a hero, the toast of N.Y. and then Mexico City. That’s how it is for a Medal of Honor recipient

By ERNIE GARRIDO

One of the 12 Hispanic WWII veterans to have received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military accolade, had a difficult childhood, but maintained a fervent belief in the Virgen de Guadalupe, the patron saint of most Mexicans.

Jose M. Lopez’s father died in the Mexican Revolution; his son never really knew him. Mr. Lopez’s mother died eight years later, when he was eight. He never went to school, but worked in the cotton fields to help support himself.

As an infantry soldier, he prayed to his beloved Virgin, but he didn’t pray to be a hero, he only wanted to return to his wife and their two children in Brownsville, Texas.

Sgt. Jose M. Lopez did return safely — to a hero’s welcome and met a succession of U.S. presidents, from Truman to George W. Bush. He was even feted in Mexico with that country’s highest military honor.

“I prayed a lot to the Virgin de Guadalupe,” (Le rezaba mucho a la Virgen de Guadalupe), Mr. Lopez recalled about his time in Belgium as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, Company K, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. “And she allowed me to succeed and I finished with combat.” (Y se me concedio que triunfe y acabe con el combate.)

Mr. Lopez — who believes he survived the horrors of war thanks to the Virgin’s blessings — sure enough packed his bags upon arriving in Brownsville and along with his wife and two children went on a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The trip was fully funded by donations from the grateful residents of Brownsville, who threw Mr. Lopez a hero’s welcome.

“I was glad that I returned to my family,” Mr. Lopez said. “My wife and I went to church to thank God that I returned and saw my children and wife.”

But the valor that Sgt. Lopez demonstrated on a Belgium battlefield — where he carried out a seemingly suicidal mission — was more than a divine gift. It was a quality that flowed deep in his blood.

Born in Mission, Texas, in 1910, Mr. Lopez’s father, Cayetano Lopez, and his mother, Candida Mendoza de Lopez, emigrated from a small village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. His father worked on the cotton and beet fields of Mission while his mother took care of the newborn.

Mr. Lopez became an orphan when his mother died.

“I didn’t know my father . . . my mother died very young,” Mr. Lopez said. (Yo no conoci a mi papa . . . mi mama fallecio muy joven.)

Mr. Lopez grew up living with a maternal uncle, Constancio Mendoza, but he provided for himself by working on the cotton fields around Brownsville. Mr. Lopez never had the chance to set foot in a classroom, something he regrets to this day.

As a young man, Mr. Lopez then caught the attention of a boxing promoter, who noticed his physical abilities and mental agility. A seven-year career as a lightweight boxer then ensued, and he fought a total of 55 matches, winning all but three of them. Never in his defeats was Mr. Lopez knocked out nor did he hit the tarp.

While at a boxing match in Melbourne, Australia, in 1934, Mr. Lopez met a group of men who worked for the Merchant Marine, and he was convinced to sign a work contract with it. He was accepted into the union in 1936 and spent the next five years traveling the world and visiting far-off places such as New Zealand, Australia, Figi and Tahiti.

For a time, Mr. Lopez lived in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where he would break concrete with a steel gun for a living. He lived there for about five months but eventually decided to return to the mainland United States.

It was en route to California that he learned about the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which led the United States into World War II. Mr. Lopez said the attack happened three days into his voyage back home.

“When I arrived in Los Angeles, I disembarked, they arrested me because they thought I was Japanese,” (Cuando llegue a Los Angeles, que me desembarque, luego luego me agarraron porque creian que era yo japones.) Mr. Lopez said. “I let them see my papers, that I was Mexican and they let me go. They were going to put me in the prison (interment camps) for the Japanese.” (Les deje mis papeles que era Mexicano y me soltaron. Me iban a poner en la prision de los japoneses.)

Mr. Lopez then returned to Brownsville in 1942 to marry Emilia Herrera, with whom he would eventually have four daughters — Candida, Virginia, Maggie and Beatrice, and one stepson, Juanito, from his wife’s first marriage.

But later on that year, he received a draft card and went to San Antonio to enlist in the U.S. Army. Mr. Lopez was sent first to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and then to Camp Roberts, Calif., to receive his basic training.

Although Mr. Lopez volunteered to serve in the Airborne Unit, he was not accepted because the Army wanted young, single men to serve in that dangerous unit. Instead, Mr. Lopez was assigned to Company K of the 23d Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.

Sgt. Lopez was then sent to Northern Ireland to receive military training for a top-secret mission that would pave the way for the Allied Force’s invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe, the June 6, 1944, assault on Omaha Beach.

Mr. Lopez’s regiment landed at Normandy on June 7, D-plus-1.

“We fought very hard against the enemy,” (Peliamos muy fuerte con los enemigos.) Mr. Lopez said. “We lost many of my friends.” (Perdimos muchos amigos mios.)

Sgt. Lopez’s ultimate test of valor, however, came on Dec. 17, 1944, near Krinkelt, Belgium, when he took it upon himself to carry his machine gun from Company K’s right flank to its left to protect it from the advancing German infantry. “Germans started to arrive and attacked an American tank,” Mr. Lopez recalled. (Alemanes comensaron a llegar y atacaron a un tanque americano) “I climbed up and asked if anyone was alive…” (Me trepe y pregunte si alguien estaba vivo)

There was no answer.

Sgt. Lopez then occupied a waist-deep fox hole and shot 10 Germans. He stayed there, despite heavy enemy fire, and he shot 25 more Germans, according to an account from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which maintains a Web site.

“Everyone was afraid of where I put them to fight the Germans,” Mr. Lopez said, recalling that one solider even wanted to surrender. “I told them that they had to stop and fight back.”

Sgt. Lopez realized his position would be outflanked so he carried his machine gun to a new position, reset the weapon and continued to fire. He single-handedly held off the Germans until he was satisfied that his company had completely gotten away and was no longer compromised.

Sgt. Lopez’s efforts ultimately allowed the Americans to create a line of defense to fight back enemy fire.

Sgt. Lopez’s bravery — in which he killed at least 100 Germans and secured the position of Company K — merited him the United States’ highest award for military valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After being presented the medal in Nuremberg, Germany, Sgt. Lopez returned to the United States. He received an enthusiastic reception when his ship landed in New York City, and he was even greeted by legendary New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

“Oh boy, they gave me a welcome!” Mr. Lopez said. “I met the mayor, the Italian guy [LaGuardia].”

Sgt. Lopez was also greeted in Mexico City during his pilgrimage to the Basilica. He was welcomed by President Avila Camacho and was also awarded Mexico’s highest military commemoration, la Condecoracion del Merito Militar.

When he came back from the war, he was unable to get a good job in Brownsville, so he moved to San Antonio and worked as a contact representative with the Veterans Administration. A few years later, he volunteered — to serve in Korea, this time retrieving fallen soldiers’ bodies. But somehow word got to then-President Harry S. Truman, who ordered him returned home.

“Bingo,” Mr. Lopez said his captain said. “Sergeant Lopez, we’re sending you back to the U.S.”

Mr. Lopez now advises his grandchildren to get an education, which he considers the most important thing to do in life.

“It’s the most one can leave to one’s grandchildren: education,” (Es lo mas que le puede dejar uno a los nietos, es la educacion) Mr. Lopez said, boasting about the success of his grandchildrens’ college educations and careers as doctors, magazine representatives and even imported cigar merchants. “They must learn so that they can live in this life.” (Que aprendan para poder vivir en esta vida.)

Mr. Lopez currently lives in San Antonio with his wife Emilia, at his daughter, Maggie Wickwire’s home.

His citation:

http://www.cmohs.org/recipients/living_cites_kl.htm

LOPEZ, JOSE M.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, 23d Infantry, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Krinkelt, Belgium, 17 December 1944. Entered service at: Brownsville, Tex. Birth: Mission, Tex. G.O. No.: 47, 18 June 1945. Citation: On his own initiative, he carried his heavy machinegun from Company K's right flank to its left, in order to protect that flank which was in danger of being overrun by advancing enemy infantry supported by tanks. Occupying a shallow hole offering no protection above his waist, he cut down a group of 10 Germans. Ignoring enemy fire from an advancing tank, he held his position and cut down 25 more enemy infantry attempting to turn his flank. Glancing to his right, he saw a large number of infantry swarming in from the front. Although dazed and shaken from enemy artillery fire which had crashed into the ground only a few yards away, he realized that his position soon would be outflanked. Again, alone, he carried his machinegun to a position to the right rear of the sector; enemy tanks and infantry were forcing a withdrawal. Blown over backward by the concussion of enemy fire, he immediately reset his gun and continued his fire. Single-handed he held off the German horde until he was satisfied his company had effected its retirement. Again he loaded his gun on his back and in a hail of small arms fire he ran to a point where a few of his comrades were attempting to set up another defense against the onrushing enemy. He fired from this position until his ammunition was exhausted. Still carrying his gun, he fell back with his small group to Krinkelt. Sgt. Lopez's gallantry and intrepidity, on seemingly suicidal missions in which he killed at least 100 of the enemy, were almost solely responsible for allowing Company K to avoid being enveloped, to withdraw successfully and to give other forces coming up in support time to build a line which repelled the enemy drive.

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