Emilio Albert De La Garza, Jr. (June 23, 1949 – April 11, 1970) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

lance corporal who was

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ly presented the nation's highest military honor — 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 valo ...

— for heroism above and beyond the call of duty on April 11, 1970, in South Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

Early years

Emilio Albert De La Garza, Jr., a Mexican-American, was born on June 23, 1949, in

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing ac ...

. He graduated from E.C. Washington High School in 1968. He was the son of Emilio and Carmen De La Garza. His father Emilio Sr. was a

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran who served in the Army between 1943 and 1945. His brother Guadalupe served in the Marine Corps from 1978 to 1985. Emilio Jr. was married to Rosemary Rejon and they have a daughter Renee (Lugo). Emilio Jr. was employed by

Inland Steel Company The Inland Steel Company was an American steel company active in 1893–1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago at the landmark Inland Steel Building. Inland Steel was an i ...

in East Chicago (Indiana Harbor), Indiana, before enlisting in the Marine Corps.

Marine Corps service

De La Garza enlisted in the

on February 4, 1969, in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He received recruit training with the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment at the

MCRD San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot (commonly referred to as MCRD) San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Upon completion of recruit training, he was ordered to the Marine Corps Base,

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

, California, where he joined the 2nd Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) and underwent individual combat training with the 1st and 2nd Battalions, and weapons training with the Basic Infantry Training Battalion. Promoted to Private First Class on July 1, 1969, he arrived in the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

on July 25, 1969, for duty as a machinegun team ammo carrier with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment,

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...

. On September 29, 1969, he was reassigned to the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is th ...

and served as a Marine Corps exchange man with Headquarters and Service Company,

2nd Battalion, 1st Marines 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed "The Professionals," the battalion consists of approximately 1,200 Mar ...

, until the following December. He was promoted to

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

on February 1, 1970. LCpl. De La Garza joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On April 11, 1970, LCpl. De La Garza was serving as a machine gunner on a squad night patrol with Company E, 3rd platoon, approximately four miles south of Da Nang. The Marine rifle squad took hit and run fire in the morning and pursued the enemy. De La Garza spotted one of the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) hidden in a deep pond and went into the water with his knife taking the VC prisoner. As the VC was being brought to the shore by De La Garza to the other Marines, the VC pulled out a hidden grenade at the shoreline. De La Garza yelled "Grenade" and was killed as he struggled with the VC in order to save the other Marines from the grenade blast.

Military awards

De La Garza's awards and decorations include:

Medal of Honor citation

De La Garza's Medal of Honor citation reads: The

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in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to LANCE CORPORAL EMILIO A. DE LA GARZA, JR.
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following CITATION: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Company E, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on April 11, 1970. Returning with his squad from a night ambush operation, Lance Corporal De La Garza joined his Platoon commander and another Marine in searching for two enemy soldiers who had been observed fleeing for cover toward a small pond. Moments later, he located one of the enemy soldiers hiding among the reeds and brush. As the three Marines attempted to remove the resisting soldier from the pond, Lance Corporal De La Garza observed him pull the pin on a grenade. Shouting a warning, Lance Corporal De La Garza placed himself between the other two Marines and the ensuing blast from the grenade, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice of his own. By his prompt and decisive action, and his great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, Lance Corporal De La Garza upheld and further enhanced the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. /S/ RICHARD M. NIXON

Namings

* American Legion Emilio De La Garza, Jr. Post 508, East Chicago, Indiana *

Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Community College (Ivy Tech) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the state's public community college system and it has more than 40 locations. It is also the state's largest public postsecondary in ...

, Foundations of East Chicago De La Garza Campus, East Chicago, Indiana * De La Garza Loop, located in MCAS Yuma, AZ, Base Housing (previously named, "SW Loop").

References