Joe Rodriguez Baldonado (August 28, 1930 – November 25, 1950) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

recipient of 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 his actions during the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River in 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 ...

. "Biography" and "Citation" tabs.

Biography

Baldonado, the son of Mexican migrant workers, was born in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

on Aug. 28, 1930, joining the U.S. Army as a light weapons infantryman (parachutist) during the Korean War. In that conflict, Baldonado was killed in an action for which he was to posthumously receive the Medal of Honor. The family of Baldonado included his parents Rebecca and Ramon brothers Richard, Manuel, Charles, Ramon jr., Gilbert and his sisters Virginia, Andy, Josephine, and Hortencia. Baldonado's acts of bravery were briefly described in a 1989 book, "Disaster in Korea: The Chinese Confront MacArthur."

Medal of Honor

Baldonado distinguished himself on November 25, 1950, while serving as a machine-gunner in the vicinity of Kangdong, Korea. Baldonado's platoon was occupying Hill 171 when the enemy attacked, attempting to take their position. Baldonado held an exposed position, cutting down wave after wave of enemy troops even as they targeted attacks on his position. During the final assault by the enemy, a grenade landed near Baldonado's gun, killing him instantly. Baldonado was initially 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) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, the U.S. Army's second-highest award, his award was upgraded to a 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.

Citation

Commendations

Baldonado also received the following:

Biography

Medal of Honor

Citation

Commendations

References

See also