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reinforced company strength. In the bitter fighting which ensued, the enemy infiltrated the defense perimeter, and realizing that encirclement was imminent, Cpl. Martinez elected to remain at his post in an attempt to stem the onslaught. In a daring defense, he raked the attacking troops with crippling fire, inflicting numerous casualties. Although contacted by sound power phone several times, he insisted that no attempt be made to rescue him because of the danger involved. Soon thereafter, the hostile forces rushed the emplacement, forcing him to make a limited withdrawal with only an automatic rifle and pistol to defend himself. After a courageous 6-hour stand and shortly before dawn, he called in for the last time, stating that the enemy was converging on his position. His magnificent stand enabled friendly elements to reorganize, attack, and regain the key terrain. Cpl. Martinez' incredible valor and supreme sacrifice reflect lasting glory upon himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.
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Cpl. Martinez, a machine gunner with
Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. While manning a listening post forward of the main line of resistance, his position was attacked by a hostile force of
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Martinez ordered the three men in his bunker to return to the
Sandbag Castle. His commanding officer, Lieutenant McLean, called him on the sound power telephone and ordered him to get out. Martinez, knowing the situation better than anyone, replied that he would have to stay on and delay the KPA as
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Martinez's unit, the 2nd
Platoon of A Company, inherited a position known as Sandbag Castle from Charlie Company. On the night of September 5, 1952, Corporal Martinez was in Outpost Agnes performing forward listening-post duties. Outpost Agnes was a
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289:(KPA) began shelling Sandbag Castle. During a lull in the shelling, the men of the 27th inside the castle were able to spot crawling KPA soldiers, whose intentions were to cut off the forward bunkers and Outpost Agnes.
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Cpl. Benito
Martinez was buried in Fort Hancock Cemetery and exhumed in the 1980s to be buried with full military honors at
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195:— the United States' highest military decoration — for his actions on the near Satae-ri in Korea during the
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long as possible. Martinez, along with
Private First Class Paul G. Myatt, remained at his post and with his
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Corporal, U.S. Army, Company A, 27th
Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
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On
February 23, 1952, the 25th Division, under the command of Major General
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inflicted numerous casualties on the attacking troops. When he ran out of
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in 1950 at the recruiting station in his hometown. Martinez completed his
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presented the family of Benito
Martinez with the Medal of Honor.
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large enough to hold four soldiers. Shortly after midnight, the
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and was eventually assigned to
Company A (Able Company) of the
595:"Paul Myatt Transcript :: Veterans' Oral History Project"
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on June 25, 1950. The 27th
Infantry Regiment, part of the
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Among Benito Martinez's decorations and medals were:
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American military personnel killed in the Korean War
556:"U.S. Army Service Tribute | TWS Roll of Honor"
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570:"25th Infantry Division Association: The Division"
35:Corporal Benito Martinez, Medal of Honor recipient
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783:United States Army personnel of the Korean War
705:United States Army Center of Military History
688:United States Army Center of Military History
650:United States Army Center of Military History
261:, was in the front line in the center of the
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793:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
531:List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
496:Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
86:Fort Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso, Texas
788:Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor
211:born to Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Martinez in
183:(April 21, 1932 – September 6, 1952) was a
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265:sector near Mundung-ni northeast of the
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338:Near Satae-ri Korea, September 6, 1952.
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701:Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War
646:Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War
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350:March 21, 1931, Fort Hancock, Texas
803:People from Hudspeth County, Texas
798:American people of Mexican descent
686:from websites or documents of the
536:Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients
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619:Benito Martinez and Outpost Agnes
526:List of Medal of Honor recipients
682: This article incorporates
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308:On December 29, 1953, President
739:"Medal of Honor recipients M-O"
707:. June 8, 2009. Archived from
652:. June 8, 2009. Archived from
478:National Defense Service Medal
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491:United Nations Service Medal
379:Fort Bliss National Cemetery
778:United States Army soldiers
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697:""BENITO MARTINEZ" entry"
642:""BENITO MARTINEZ" entry"
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303:Browning automatic rifle
96:United States of America
16:Medal of Honor Recipient
630:Medal of Honor citation
389:Awards and recognitions
316:Medal of Honor citation
275:main line of resistance
684:public domain material
487:with two bronze stars
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330:Rank and organization:
254:in Republic of Korea.
244:25th Infantry Division
225:27th Infantry Regiment
141:25th Infantry Division
137:27th Infantry Regiment
356:96, December 29, 1953
114:Years of service
485:Korean Service Medal
287:Korean People's Army
344:Fort Hancock, Texas
342:Entered service at:
246:, was stationed in
213:Fort Hancock, Texas
54:Fort Hancock, Texas
267:Hwach'on Reservoir
217:United States Army
185:United States Army
108:United States Army
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240:Republic of Korea
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64:September 6, 1952
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473:Purple Heart
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259:Ira P. Swift
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238:invaded the
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189:posthumously
187:soldier who
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172:Purple Heart
147:Battles/wars
66:(1952-09-06)
773:1952 deaths
768:1932 births
295:machine gun
236:North Korea
203:Early years
762:Categories
715:2007-12-31
660:2007-12-31
605:2017-12-06
580:2006-12-05
542:References
354:G.O. No.:
299:ammunition
231:Korean War
197:Korean War
151:Korean War
92:Allegiance
47:1932-04-21
360:Citation:
179:Corporal
117:1950–1952
504:See also
126:Corporal
102:Service/
72:Hwacheon
263:X Corps
153: (
373:Honors
283:bunker
273:, the
248:Hawaii
164:Awards
104:branch
348:Born:
252:Pusan
76:Korea
70:near
751:2010
731:2010
132:Unit
122:Rank
61:Died
56:, US
41:Born
381:in
156:DOW
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