Disturbing news: Advocacy group opposes memorial to Medal of Honor recipients
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| Photo credit: Obregon/CMH Foundation |
Disturbing news from Los Angeles with the announcement that an advocacy group is opposing a memorial to Medal of Honor recipients.
The City Project filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for the construction of the war memorial in the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument by three different groups, including the nonprofit El Pueblo Park Association and a Tongva Indian group.
One of reasons given: The memorial, “diminishes much-needed public space and demands that the city suspend work until a full environmental review is completed.”
The case is set to go to trial on March 11.
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| Pfc Obregon and Pfc Summers |
From the Obregon/CMH Foundation website (who are financing and constructing the monument):
“It is a little known fact that of the nearly 3,500 Medals of Honor awarded since the Civil War, 40 (43) have been given to Latino Americans making them the largest single ethnic group, in proportion to the number who served, to earn our nation’s highest award for bravery.
This site will remind all who visit it that many of these heroes made the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard our liberties and to protect their comrades. Such was the case of Pfc Eugene A. Obregon, a young Marine from East Los Angeles, California, who gave his life so that his friend, Pfc Bert M. Johnson of Grand Prairie, Texas, might live. While shielding the wounded Bert with his body, Gene Obregon single-handedly held off an entire North Korean platoon, killing 22 of the enemy before falling to a burst of enemy machine gun fire. Obregon’s deed exemplifies the brotherhood that should exist among all Americans.
Above all, it is important to understand that the purpose of the Obregon/CMH monument is not to glorify war, but to honor those patriotic Latino Americans who, for love of country, liberty and brotherhood “performed with conspicuous gallantry, above and beyond the call of duty.”
In the Los Angeles Times article, Veterans Win OK of Statue to Honor 39 Latino War Heroes (published in 2000), George Ramos mentions that it took six years for the local veterans to persuade the governing board of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument to approve a statue in honor of the Latinos who have received the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
“Their patriotism should not be questioned, they say, pointing out that among Mexican Americans alone, there were 17 Medal of Honor winners during World War II and Korea. A book about the Latino Medal of Honor recipients, Among the Valiant, by Los Angeles author Raul Morin, was the impetus for the memorial…
“This is a great day” for Latino veterans, said Morin’s son, Eddie, who is updating his father’s book.
We recommend the groups filing the lawsuit, read Obregan’s story and the citations of these Medal of Honor recipients:
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| View poster on Valiant Press |
| Civil War | |
| Seaman John Ortega (Spain) | 1864 U.S. Navy |
| Corporal Joseph H. De Castro (Boston, MA) | 1864 U.S. Army |
| Ordinary Seaman Philip Bazaar (Chile) | 1865 U.S. Navy |
| Boxer Rebellion | |
| Private France Silva (Haywood, CA) | 1901 U.S.M.C. |
| World War I | |
| Private David Barkeley (Laredo, TX) | 1918 U.S. Army |
| World War II | |
| Private Joseph P. Martinez (Taos, NM) | 1943 U.S. Army |
| Staff Sergeant Lucian Adams (Port Arthur, TX) | 1944 U.S. Army |
| Sergeant Jose M. Lopez (Mission, TX) | 1944 U.S. Army |
| Staff Sergeant Macario Garcia (Mexico) | 1944 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Jose F. Valdez (Governador, NM) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Technical Sergeant Cleto Rodriguez (San Marcos, TX) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Manuel Perez, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Silvestre S. Herrera (El Paso, TX) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas (Casa Blanca, CA) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Harold Gonsalves (Alameda, CA) | 1945 U.S.M.C. |
| Private First Class Alejandro R. Renteria Ruiz (Loving, NM) | 1945 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class David M. Gonzales (Pacoima, CA) | 1945 U S. Army |
| Korean Conflict | |
| First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez (Tampa, FL) | 1950 U.S.M.C. |
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Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon (Los Angeles, CA) |
1950 U.S.M.C. |
| Sergeant Joseph C. Rodriguez (San Bernardino, CA) | 1951 U.S. Army |
| Corporal Rodolfo P. Hernandez (Colton, CA) | 1951 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Edward Gomez (Omaha, NE) | 1951 U.S.M.C. |
| Private First Class Fernando Luis Garcia (Utuado, PR) | 1952 U.S.M.C |
| Corporal Benito Martinez (Fort Hancock, TX) | 1952 U.S. Army |
| Staff Sergeant Ambrosio Guillen (La Junta, CO) | 1953 U.S.M.C. |
| Vietnam Era | |
| Captain Humbert Versace (Puerto Rico) | 1965 U.S. Army |
| Specialist Fourth Class Daniel Fernandez (Albuquerque, NM) | 1966 U.S. Army |
| Specialist Fourth Class Alfred Rascon (Chihuahua, Mexico) | 1966 U.S. Army |
| Captain Euripides Rubio (Ponce, PR) | 1966 U. S. Army |
| First Sergeant Maximo Yabes (Lodi, CA) | 1967 U.S. Army |
| Private First Class Carlos James Lozada (Caguas, PR) | 1967 U.S. Army |
| Sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez (Edinburgh, TX) | 1968 U.S.M.C. |
| Major Jay R. Vargas, Jr. (Winslow, AZ) | 1968 U.S.M.C. |
| Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez (El Campo, TX) | 1968 U.S. Army |
| Specialist Fourth Class Hector Santiago-Colon (Salinas, PR) | 1968 U. S. Army |
| Lance Corporal Jose Francisco Jimenez (Mexico) | 1969 U.S.M.C. |
| Private First Class Ralph E. Dias (Shelocia, PA) | 1969 U.S.M.C. |
| Lance Corporal Emilio A. De la Garza, Jr. (East Chicago, IN) | 1970 U.S.M.C. |
| Lance Corporal Miguel Keith (San Antonio, TX) | 1970 U.S.M.C. |
| Warrant Officer Louis R. Rocco (Albuquerque, NM) | 1970 U.S. Army |
More on the monument at the Obregon/CMH Foundation website
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