Rest In Peace.....Rudy Hernandez

He was a hero of the Korean War, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The son of migrant farm workers who could not find a job, joined the Army at the age of 17. He became a paratrooper. He was a member of Company G of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. His unit was attacked by artillery about 2 a.m. on May 31, 1951. Hernandez, single-handedly carried out a bayonet assault on the enemy. Although severely wounded, he fixed his bayonet to his damaged, useless rifle, threw six grenades at the North Koreans, then charged out of his foxhole, shouting, "Here I come!" Hernandez stabbed six enemy soldiers to death with his bayonet. His one-man assault caused the North Koreans to retreat and allowed his Army unit time to regroup and launch a counterattack. He was injured all over his body from grenades, bullets and artillery shrapnel. He collapsed on the battlefield. His body was found the next morning, bloody and muddy, surrounded by the corpses of the enemy troops he had killed. He had bayonet wounds in his back and through his lower lip. He had lost most of his front teeth. He appeared to be lifeless there on the ground. Then a medic noticed some movement in his hands. He was evacuated. He did not regain consciousness for a month. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman in the White House Rose Garden on April 12, 1952. I, personally do not take Corporal Hernandez' actions lightly. He is a true war hero. He is among the valiant. He passed away 7 days ago, in Fayetteville, NC. He was 82. Rest in peace, Rudy. (most of the above information was taken from a Washington Post article written by Matt Schudel. It later appeared in the Union Tribune San Diego)