Victor Hugo Espinoza (July 15, 1929 – April 17, 1986) was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and a 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.

Biography

Espinoza was born in

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

on July 15, 1929. Orphaned at an early age, he remained in foster care until joining the military. Espinoza's actions in the U.S. Army during the Korean War in 1952 caused him to be posthumously awarded with the Medal of Honor in 2014. After leaving the Army, Espinoza resided in El Paso until his death on April 17, 1986. Espinoza is buried at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. He was of Mexican American descent.

Medal of Honor

Espinoza was recognized for his actions on Aug. 1, 1952, at

Chorwon Ch'ŏrwŏn County () is a ''kun'', or county, in Kangwŏn province, North Korea. Portions of it were once a single county together with the county of the same name in South Korea; other portions were added from neighbouring counties in the 19 ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. While spearheading an attack to secure Old Baldy, Espinoza's unit was pinned down by withering fire from fortified enemy positions. In daring succession, Espinoza single-handedly silenced a machine-gun and its crew, discovered and destroyed a covert enemy tunnel, and wiped out two bunkers. His actions inspired his unit and enabled them to secure the strong-point against great odds. 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.

Medal of Honor Citation

Other honors and awards

Besides the Medal of Honor, Espinoza received:

Biography

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor Citation

Other honors and awards

References

See also