Manuel Verdugo Mendoza (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 2001) 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 ...

master sergeant and

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 ...

recipient.

Military service

Mendoza was drafted into the United States Army in November 1942. He reported for duty at

Fort MacArthur Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California (now the port community of Los Angeles). A small section remains in military use by the United States Air Force as a housing and administrative annex ...

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 ...

, for basic training; before being sent to

Camp Gruber Camp Gruber is an Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG) training facility. It covers a total of . The base is named after Brigadier General Edmund L. Gruber, a noted artillery officer and the original composer of the U.S. Field Artillery Marc ...

, Oklahoma as a member of the 350th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division. He deployed with the regiment overseas on December 6, 1943, arriving in Casablanca, French Morocco on December 15. He, and the rest of the 88th Infantry Division, trained in

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

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, in preparation for combat operations in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, until February 1944. On February 6, 1944, Mendoza landed with the 88th, in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Italy. He first saw combat on March 11, 1944 when his regiment relieved a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

infantry division on the

GUSTAV Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section ...

. He participated in

Operation Diadem Operation Diadem, also referred to as the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino or, in Canada, the Battle of the Liri Valley, was an offensive operation undertaken by the Allies of World War II (U.S. Fifth Army and British Eighth Army) in May 1944, as p ...

in May 1944, seeing combat during the captures of Spigno, Mount Civita,

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Fondi Fondi ( la, Fundi; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...

, Raccagorga, and

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands ...

. He was present when the 88th Infantry Division entered Rome on June 4, 1944. Mendoza went on to see combat throughout the Arno Campaign in July–August 1944. He participated in the 88th Infantry Division's GOTHIC Line offensive in September 1944, including the capture of Mount Battaglia. After his heroic actions on October 4, 1944, he became known in his regiment as "The Arizona Kid". Mendoza was wounded on October 4, 1944 and would return to his unit in January 1945. He was present for the 1945 Spring Offensive, and entered Austria on the 30th of April 1945. The war ended while his unit linked up with the 103rd Infantry Division in Innsbruck. Mendoza would serve in the

Occupation of Austria The Allied occupation of Austria started on 8 May 1945 with the fall of Nazi Germany and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955. After the in 1938, Austria had generally been recognized as part of Nazi Germany. In 1943, however, ...

on the

Morgan Line The Morgan Line was the line of demarcation set up after World War II in the region known as Julian March which prior to the war belonged to the Kingdom of Italy. The Morgan Line was the border between two military administrations in the region: t ...

until September 1945 when he was discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Soon after returning home he enlisted in the Arizona Army National Guard. He re-enlisted for active duty in 1948. He went on to serve 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 ...

, where he was wounded once again. He was honourably discharged in 1953.

Medal of Honor action and citation

Mendoza is credited with single-handedly breaking up a German counterattack on October 4, 1944, at Mt. Battaglia, Italy. He was originally 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 ...

for his bravery. Nearly 70 years would pass before his heroism was properly recognized with the Medal of Honor. That belated recognition 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 who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to see if they had been denied the Medal of Honor by prejudice. Mendoza was awarded the Medal of Honor by President

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in a March 18, 2014, ceremony in the

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. As Mendoza had died in 2001, his widow accepted his award. His citation reads: Cmoh army

Honors and awards

Mendoza awards include:

Civilian life and death

Mendoza was born on July 15, 1922, in

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, the eldest of 11 children. He married Alice Gaona in August 1944, two months before he was drafted into the army. They had four children together.''Austin Daily Herald''
/ref> After his military service Mendoza worked odd jobs as a handy man, until he became a foreman at the Palo Verde Generating Station. He retired in 1986 due to ill health. File:Mesa-Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery-Manuel Verdugo Mendoza-1.jpg, Grave of Mendoza File:Mesa-Mountain View Funeral Home and Cemetery-Manuel Verdugo Mendoza-2.jpg, Medal of Honor Plaque

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Manuel V. 1922 births 2001 deaths World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War American people of Mexican descent

Military service

Medal of Honor action and citation

Honors and awards

Civilian life and death

See also

References