Demensio Rivera
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Private Demensio Rivera (April 28, 1932 – March 19, 1964) was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
veteran of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
who was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...
; the award was upgraded in 2014, decades after his death, to the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
.


Biography

Demensio Rivera y Avilés was the youngest of five children born in
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Cabo Rojo (, ) is a Cabo Rojo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality situated on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico and forms part of the San Germán – Cabo Rojo metropolitan area, San Germán–Cabo Rojo metropoli ...
to Demensio Rivera Y Negrón and Dolores Avilés De Rivera. He was still a child when his parents moved to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he was raised. On September 26, 1950, Rivera joined the United States Army in New York. In 1951, he was deployed to the Republic of Korea as a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. When his unit was attacked by the enemy during the
UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive The UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive was a military operation performed by the United Nations Command (UN) during the Korean War launched in response to the Chinese spring offensive of April-May 1951. It was the final large-scale offensive of ...
, he delivered continuous and devastating fire at them with his automatic rifle until his weapon became inoperative. He employed his pistol and grenades and stopped the enemy within a few feet of his position. Rivera was seriously wounded and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest military decoration. His DSC was upgraded to the Medal of Honor and was posthumously awarded to him in 2014. Rivera was residing in New York City where he died on March 19, 1967. His body was transferred to Puerto Rico. He was buried with full military honors in section C row K -184 at the Cementerio San Miguel Arcangel located in Carretera PR-308, Parcelas Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo.


Medal of Honor

The bestowal of the Medal of Honor recognized Rivera for his actions at Changyong-ni, Korea, May 22–23, 1951. When the outpost area occupied by his platoon was assaulted during the night, Rivera, an automatic rifleman, held his forward position tenaciously, although exposed to very heavy fire. When his rifle became inoperative, Rivera employed his pistol and grenades, and eventually fought the enemy hand-to-hand and forced them back. Rivera was posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
by President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in a March 18, 2014 White House ceremony. Rivera was one of four Puerto Ricans to be honored that day and one of nine Puerto Ricans to have received the Medal of Honor. The award came through the Defense Authorization Act which called for a review of Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor.


Medal of Honor citation


Honors, awards and decorations

Among Private Rivera's military decorations are the following:


Note


See also

*
List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients This list represents all of the 146 United States military personnel who received the Medal of Honor for valor in combat during the Korean War. 103 Medals of Honor were awarded Posthumously awarded, posthumously. The Korean War was an escalation ...
* List of Puerto Ricans *
List of Puerto Rican military personnel Throughout history Puerto Ricans, including people of Puerto Rican descent, have gained notability as members of the military. They have served and have fought for many countries, such as Canada, Cuba, England, Mexico, Spain, the United States an ...
*
List of Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor Since World War I Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent have participated in every conflict in which the United States has been involved as members of the United States Armed Forces. The following nine Puerto Ricans, incl ...
*
List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients The Medal of Honor was introduced during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Demensio 1933 births 1967 deaths United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Korean War Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Puerto Rican Army personnel People from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico