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408:, Pvt. Herrera again moved forward, disregarding the danger of exploding mines, to attack the position. He stepped on a mine and had both feet severed but, despite intense pain and unchecked loss of blood, he pinned down the enemy with accurate rifle fire while a friendly squad captured the enemy gun by skirting the minefield and rushing in from the flank. The magnificent courage, extraordinary heroism, and willing self-sacrifice displayed by Pvt. Herrera resulted in the capture of 2 enemy strongpoints and the taking of 8 prisoners.
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dodge the war, Herrera was unswayed. As he later related, "I thought, I'm going anyway. I didn't want anybody to die in my place... I felt that I had my adopted country that had been so nice to me. I thought, I have an
American wife and the kids and one on the way." It was only the first of several life-changing acts of heroism Herrera would take. (Despite these recollections, noncitizen Mexican nationals living in the United States were and are subject to US draft laws).
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an effort to explode the mines. Herrera got up and charged the
Germans anyway, but as he neared the machine-gun nest, he stepped on a mine. He was thrown to the ground, both of his feet blown off at the ankle. Though bleeding heavily, he lay on his stomach and fired at the Germans, forcing them to stay down and thus enabling his squad to skirt the minefield, flank the enemy, and move in for the kill.
338:. Ignoring the danger Herrera again single-handedly charged, seeking to draw fire away from his comrades. A mine exploded and shattered one leg below the knee. Staggering up on his good leg he stepped on a second, severing that leg below the knee. Still Herrera laid machine gun fire while kneeling, allowing members of his platoon to skirt the mine field and capture the enemy position.
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That is when the man
Herrera had believed to be his father gave him the stunning news of his Mexican birth, and said, "Son, you don't have to go, they can't draft you...you aren't an American citizen." Even in the face of these multiple shocks, and what might have seemed like a perfect opportunity to
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After he mounted a one-man charge on an enemy stronghold which resulted in the solo capture of eight enemy soldiers, his unit was again attacked by a machine gun placement across another minefield. Herrera again that day single-handedly took on the enemy. While crossing the second minefield, he lost
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Herrera turned his prisoners over to men in his squad, then started crawling toward the other machine gun, firing as he went. ("My M-1 was talking, and the
Germans understood what it was saying," he commented later.) The position was protected by a minefield; GIs were throwing rocks into the area in
428:
Silvestre
Herrera was twenty-seven years old, married with three children, and working in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, when he was drafted into the Army in January 1944. Men with families were no longer exempt from the service – in basic training, he met another draftee who said
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During a ninety-day furlough to
Phoenix, he was notified that he was to receive the Medal of Honor and traveled to Washington with an uncle who was given time off from his job to help him make the trip. In time, Silvestre Herrera would be fitted with new prosthetic feet, but on August 23, 1945, at
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On March 15, Herrera's platoon was advancing along a wooded road near the French town of
Mertzwiller when it ran into two German machine-gun emplace-ments. Caught in a deadly crossfire between the two guns, the GIs dived for cover. Fearing that his comrades would be cut to pieces, Herrera stood up
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Private First Class
Herrera's company landed in Italy, by this time largely under Allied control, as part of the 142nd Infantry in the summer of 1944. That fall they landed in France at Marseille and took a troop train to the front. By the end of the year, as his unit reached France, it began to
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and ran toward the closest enemy position, firing his rifle from the hip. He tossed two grenades at the machine-gun nest; the concussion knocked the
Germans down. Then he was on them, and all eight soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered to him.
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and later, the 6253rd United States Army
Hospital, was dedicated in honor of Silvestre S. Herrera. This dedication was thanks in large part to the efforts of neighbor and long time admirer of Herrera, Sergeant Major Douglas Mattson (retired).
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Herrera remained conscious for the next few hours. At the aid station, he said to the examining doctor, "Just try to save my knees, Doc." After two months in an Army field hospital, he was sent to the Army Amputation Center in Utah.
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fire. As the rest of the unit took cover, he made a 1-man frontal assault on a strongpoint and captured 8 enemy soldiers. When the platoon resumed its advance and was subjected to fire from a second emplacement beyond an extensive
217:(First Class) at the time of his death. A legend in the state of Arizona, he was honored by the city of Phoenix officially renaming the portion of 3rd Street that runs from Indian School Road North into the park, "S. Herrera Way".
201:
explosion then the other leg to a second explosion. Unable to continue his 1-man advance and despite a severe loss of blood, he single-handedly held the forward position to provide covering fire pinning down the enemy with his
256:. His parents died in an influenza epidemic when he was only a year old, and the man he had thought was his father was really an uncle who had brought the 18-month-old Herrera there to provide him with a better life in the
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declared August 14, 1945 to be "Herrera Day" and welcomed home Pfc. Silvestre S. Herrera with a hero's parade. A drive to bestow upon him citizenship of the only country he knew was started and as a result he was granted
327:, 5 miles northwest of Haguenau. His platoon came under heavy enemy machine gun fire from the woods, forcing most of the men to seek cover. Herrera charged the enemy stronghold single-handedly, firing his
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encounter resistance from the retreating Germans. When the fighting became heavy by the spring of 1945, Herrera had to concede a grudging respect for the enemy, regarding them as "muy machos."
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352:"He told me he would rather be awarded the Medal of Honor than be president of the United States," Herrera recalled in a 2005 interview. "That made me even more proud."
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was not sure the young man would be well enough for a formal presentation of the Medal of Honor. However, on August 23, 1945, Silvestre rolled his wheelchair across the
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Valle Del Sol, Inc. recognized Herrera with a Special Recognition Award in 1994, and with a Hall of Fame award in 1999. On March 13, 1996, Herrera was honored by the
268:, 36th Division. Expecting yet another child, Herrera felt it would be important for his parents to be there for him while he was gone and so went to break the news.
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with his American wife Ramona and three children, Mary, Elva, Silvestre, Jr. and his uncle. When the United States entered World War II Herrera was drafted into the
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517:. He was buried with full military honors in the West Resthaven Park Cemetery in Glendale. He was buried alongside his wife Ramona, who died in 1991.
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in mid-September Mediterranean French ports were liberated. The 142nd landed in Marseilles in the Fall, then deployed near the front in the
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rifle from his hip and ending the threat with a pair of grenades. Eight enemy soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.
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206:. His accurate rifle fire allowed his comrades to overrun the enemy position in a flanking action clear of the minefield.
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Later that same day, his platoon was attacked and pinned down by a second enemy stronghold, protected by an extensive
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Herrera became the first resident from Arizona to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II. Arizona Governor
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shake hands at the Medal of Honor presentation ceremony in the East Room of the White House (August 23, 1945)
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A year after Herrera received his White House presentation of the Medal of Honor from President Truman, the
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the White House, President Harry Truman bent over his wheelchair to present him with the Medal of Honor.
794:"Honoring Silvestre S. Herrera – Hon. Ed Pastor; Extension of Remarks in the House of Representatives"
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landed in Italy in the autumn of 1944 to stage for its deployment in France. Upon the completion of
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heritage, Herrera was the only living person authorized to wear both the Medal of Honor and Mexico's
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478:. The citizens of Arizona raised $ 14,000 to provide him and his growing family with a new home.
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494:. An elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona – the Silvestre S Herrera School – bears his name.
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260:. Herrera worked as a farm hand, marrying and raising a family in El Paso before moving to
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I am a Mexican-American and we have a tradition. We're supposed to be men, not sissies.
319:, 1945 Herrera's unit found itself engaged in combat in a forest in the vicinity of the
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On October 24, 1998, the United States Army Reserve Center in Mesa, which houses the
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Discharged in March 1946 at the rank of Sergeant. See Medal of Honor.com profile.
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Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company E, 142d Infantry, 36th Infantry Division.
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He advanced with a platoon along a wooded road until stopped by heavy enemy
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817:. Phoenix Elementary School District #1, Phoenix, Arizona. Archived from
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173:(July 17, 1917 – November 26, 2007) was a private first class of the
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As Herrera lay in the Army hospital recovering from his wounds,
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lawn so that the President could present him with his award.
311:, an attack on German positions along a 75 km line from
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WWII US Army Pfc Medal of Honor France 1945 Mexican-American
865:
Valor of Many Stripes: Remarkable Americans in World War II
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Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty:
780:
Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
252:, and not, as he believed until he was twenty-seven, in
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Grave-site of Silvestre S. Herrera and his wife Ramona
927:"Silvestre S. Herrera, Medal of Honor, World War II"
766:"The Surprising Role Mexico Played in World War II"
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642:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
513:On November 26, 2007, Herrera died at his home in
35:PFC Silvestre S. Herrera, Medal of Honor recipient
946:"Silvestre S. Herrera, Medal of Honor recipient"
900:"Herrera, Silvestre S., Medal of Honor citation"
360:
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82:West Resthaven Park Cemetery, Glendale, Arizona
578:European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
1019:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
908:United States Army Center of Military History
891:United States Army Center of Military History
8:
979:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
974:United States Army personnel of World War II
904:World War II Medal of Honor recipients (G–L)
950:Hispanic American Medal of Honor recipients
842:. U.S. Army Reserve Command. Archived from
647:List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients
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378:Near Mertzwiller, France, March 15, 1945.
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1004:Military personnel from El Paso, Texas
989:Mexican-born Medal of Honor recipients
984:Mexican emigrants to the United States
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488:United States House of Representatives
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7:
840:"164th CorpsSupport Group – History"
490:upon recommendation of Congressman
889:from websites or documents of the
652:Hispanic Americans in World War II
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637:List of Medal of Honor recipients
885: This article incorporates
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163:Order of Military Merit (Mexico)
606:Mexican Order of Military Merit
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999:People from Chihuahua (state)
792:Pastor, Ed (March 13, 1996).
307:On March 15, kick-off day of
815:"Silvestre S Herrera School"
429:he was the father of eight.
304:region in early March 1945.
994:United States Army soldiers
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592:World War II Victory Medal
181:for his heroic actions in
684:"Medal of Honor citation"
507:164th Corps Support Group
476:United States Citizenship
171:Silvestre Santana Herrera
28:
952:. Hispanic America U.S.A
240:Herrera was born in the
564:American Campaign Medal
464:Order of Military Merit
462:presented him with its
356:Medal of Honor citation
215:Order of Military Merit
887:public domain material
723:Home of Heroes Profile
521:Awards and decorations
502:
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390:75, September 5, 1945.
370:Rank and organization:
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284:Herrera and President
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135:36th Infantry Division
796:. Library of Congress
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234:Silvestre S. Herrera
197:one of his legs to a
108:Years of service
460:Government of Mexico
364:Silvestre S. Herrera
266:Texas National Guard
23:Silvestre S. Herrera
846:on December 5, 2007
382:Entered service at:
309:Operation Undertone
933:. HomeOfHeroes.com
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209:Born in Mexico of
175:United States Army
102:United States Army
54:Camargo, Chihuahua
768:. 25 August 2023.
754:Los Angeles Times
612:
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515:Glendale, Arizona
415:Portrait of Valor
298:Operation Dragoon
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177:who received the
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71:Glendale, Arizona
64:November 26, 2007
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384:Phoenix, Arizona
343:President Truman
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914:on 2009-08-05
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51:July 17, 1917
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954:. Retrieved
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935:. Retrieved
930:
916:. Retrieved
912:the original
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848:. Retrieved
844:the original
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823:. Retrieved
819:the original
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798:. Retrieved
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692:. Retrieved
688:the original
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550:Purple Heart
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159:Purple Heart
145:World War II
141:Battles/wars
66:(2007-11-26)
1014:2007 deaths
1009:1917 births
482:Later years
454:More honors
347:White House
325:Mertzwiller
313:Saarbrücken
221:Early years
183:Mertzwiller
968:Categories
956:2006-07-15
937:2006-07-15
918:2006-07-15
875:References
850:2006-07-16
825:2006-07-16
800:2006-07-16
694:2015-02-21
401:machinegun
336:mine field
88:Allegiance
47:1917-07-17
492:Ed Pastor
406:minefield
394:Citation:
388:G.O. No.:
250:Chihuahua
204:M1 Garand
199:land mine
189:, during
111:1944–1946
931:Profiles
615:See also
323:town of
321:Bas-Rhin
317:Haguenau
244:city of
211:Hispanic
120:Sergeant
96:Service/
56:, Mexico
246:Camargo
242:Mexican
302:Alsace
187:France
151:Awards
98:branch
658:Notes
292:The
126:Unit
116:Rank
73:, US
61:Died
41:Born
315:to
232:—
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929:.
906:.
902:.
729:^
703:^
675:^
329:M1
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45:(
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