Miguel Armando "Nando" Vera (May 3, 1932 – September 21, 1952) was a United States Army soldier who was killed in the Korean War and a posthumous 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 valor. ...

for his actions during the

Battle of Old Baldy The Battle of Old Baldy refers to a series of five engagements for Hill 266 in west-central Korea. They occurred over a period of 10 months in 1952–1953, though there was also vicious fighting both before and after these engagements. Backgr ...

Biographical details

Vera was born in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico and joined the

U.S. 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 ...

when he was 17 years old. After Vera was killed in action in the Korean War, his body was transferred to Puerto Rico where he was buried with full military honors in the Utuado Municipal Cemetery, Utuado, Puerto Rico. Years later, in November 2014, Vera was reburied at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

Medal of Honor

The bestowal of the Medal of Honor recognized Vera for his actions at Chorwon, North Korea, on September 21, 1952. While Vera's unit attempted to retake the right sector of ''Old Baldy'', it came under heavy fire at close range and was forced back. Vera selflessly chose to stay and cover the troops' withdrawal, and lost his life during this action. Vera was posthumously bestowed the

by President Obama in a March 18, 2014 White House ceremony. The bestowal of the Medal of Honor was in accordance with the

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

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

Awards and decorations

Notes

References