Héctor Santiago-Colón (December 20, 1942 – June 28, 1968) is one of nine Puerto Ricans who have been posthumously presented with 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 ...

, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. His actions on June 28, 1968, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

saved the lives of his comrades.

Early years

Santiago-Colón was one of twelve siblings born to Pablo Santiago and Petronila Colón in

Salinas, Puerto Rico Salinas (, ) is a town and municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of Guayama. Salinas is spread over 5 bar ...

. There he received his primary and secondary education. In 1960 his family moved to the mainland

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and lived in

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. After living in the city for a short time, Santiago-Colón decided that he wanted to be part of the NYPD (

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

), however, at the time, in order to become a member of the NYPD you had to be a veteran. Santiago-Colon then volunteered to join the

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 ...

. He was engaged to be married to his elementary school sweetheart at the time. After completing his basic training, he was assigned to a unit stationed in the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

Action in Vietnam

On June 28, 1968, members of Santiago-Colón's Company B of the 5th Battalion,

7th Cavalry Regiment The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air " Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest ba ...

, 1st Cavalry Division were engaged in combat in Quang Tri Province during Operation Jeb Stuart III. A North Vietnamese soldier threw a hand grenade into Santiago-Colón's

foxhole Foxhole may refer to: * Foxhole, a type of defensive fighting position constructed in a military context * Foxholes, Hertford, an eastern suburb of Hertford * Foxholes, North Yorkshire, a village and civil parish in Northern England * Foxhole, C ...

. Realizing that there was no time to throw out the grenade, he tucked it in to his stomach and turning away from his comrades, absorbed the full impact of the blast, sacrificing his life to save his fellow soldiers from certain death. Santiago-Colón

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

received the

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty. The award was presented to his family in a ceremony at the

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President Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was th ...

on April 7, 1970. His remains are buried in the city of Salinas,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

Medal of Honor citation

Memorials

In July 1975, the Puerto Rico National Guard renamed their training base "Camp Salinas", which is located close to Santiago-Colón's birth town, with the name

Camp Santiago Camp Santiago Joint Training Center is a military training installation controlled by the Puerto Rico National Guard on 16,000 acres of land located in Salinas, Puerto Rico. This training facility was named posthumously after Medal of Honor recip ...

in his honor. He was the second Puerto Rican to be so honored. The first Puerto Rican who has a military installation named after him is Marine PFC Fernando Luis García, who was the first Puerto Rican

recipient. The base is "Camp Garcia" located in the island municipality of

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

. Santiago-Colón's name on the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those ...

is located at Panel 54W Line 013. Santiago-Colón's name is also 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. On November 11, 2008, the Government of Puerto Rico unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda the oil portrait of Santiago-Colón. In 1977 a gym at Fort Benning was named Santiago Fitness Center on Sand Hill in honor of Specialist Santiago Colón.

Military decorations awarded

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago-Colon, Hector 1942 births 1968 deaths People from Salinas, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor Puerto Rican Army personnel United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor Deaths by hand grenade