Fernando Luis García (October 14, 1929 – September 5, 1952) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

private first class who was killed in action during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for heroism above and beyond the call of duty on September 5, 1952, during the Battle of Bunker Hill (1952). He was the first of nine Puerto Rican servicemen to be awarded the Medal of Honor and is the only Puerto Rican Marine to be awarded the medal.

Biography

García (birth name: Fernando Luis García Ledesma ) was born in

Utuado, Puerto Rico Utuado () is a Utuado barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the ''Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico), Cordillera Central''. It is located ...

where he received his primary and secondary education. He moved to San Juan where he was hired by the Texas Company as a file clerk.

U.S. Marine Corps

Korean War

On September 19, 1951, García joined the United States Marines Corps and received his recruit training at Parris Island,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. After he graduated from "boot camp", he was promoted to private first class in December and was sent to Camp Lejeune,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

for more training before being sent to Korea in March 1952. García was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On the night of his death, he and his company were posted about from the enemy lines at "Outpost Bruce" in the Bunker Hill area. Chinese soldiers were attacking with artillery, mortars, and

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s. García was wounded and getting

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s from his acting platoon sergeant when an enemy grenade landed near them. García covered the grenade with his body, sacrificing himself to save the life of his fellow Marine who was wounded by the blast. García died instantly. For this heroic action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. García's remains were never recovered.

Medal of Honor citation

On October 25, 1953, García's parents were presented his Medal of Honor at a ceremony held in the Utuado City Hall.

Awards and decorations

Honors

* There is a headstone with García's name in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico. *On February 5, 1959, the United States Marines Corps named a military camp in

Vieques, Puerto Rico Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, Culebra barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, Puerto Rico, Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin ...

, "Camp García" in his honor. *The United States Navy named the ''García'' class of ships in his honor, with the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

in the class () bearing his name, as well. *His name is inscribed in "El Monumento de la Recordación" (Monument of Remembrance), dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. *His name is also inscribed in the "Wall of the Missing" located in the National Memorial of the Pacific in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, which honors the Medal of Honor recipients whose bodies have never been recovered. *A monument commemorating his actions stands in his hometown of Utuado, Puerto Rico. *On November 11, 2008, the Government of Puerto Rico unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda the oil portrait of PFC Fernando Luis García. *The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Post 42 in Utuado, Puerto Rico was named American Legion Auxiliary, 42 Pfc Fernando Luis Garcia and a low income housing project, the Caserío Fernando Luis García in Utuado, is also named after García. *In 2017 Fernando Luis Garcia was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

Notes

References

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