Cleto Luna Rodríguez

He advanced amid heavy fire to break the enemy's resistance.

Cleto Luna Rodríguez was born in San Marcos, Texas, on 26 April 1923. After both parents died when he was nine, he moved to San Antonio and worked to support himself and his family. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944 and became an automatic rifleman in Company B, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division.

On 9 February 1945, during the battle for Manila, Rodríguez's platoon was pinned down by fire from the strongly defended Paco Railroad Station. He and fellow rifleman John N. Reese Jr. advanced together to a house closer to the objective and engaged enemy troops from that position. They moved forward again to disrupt Japanese reinforcements trying to reach nearby pillboxes. Rodríguez then pressed toward the station while Reese covered him, using grenades and automatic-rifle fire to attack its defenses. Their action helped break the resistance and allowed the American advance to continue. Reese was killed during the withdrawal. Two days later, Rodríguez helped his comrades advance again by destroying another gun position.

President Harry S. Truman presented Rodríguez with the Medal of Honor at the White House on 12 October 1945. After leaving the Army, he returned to San Antonio, married Flora Muñiz and raised a family. In 1947 he began work as a Veterans Administration representative. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1954, then returned to the Army from 1955 to 1970, serving in the Military Police Corps and retiring as a master sergeant. He died in San Antonio on 7 December 1990 and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation: He was an automatic rifleman when his unit attacked the strongly defended Paco Railroad Station during the battle for Manila, Philippine Islands. While making a frontal assault across an open field, his platoon was halted 100 yards from the station by intense enemy fire. On his own initiative, he left the platoon, accompanied by a comrade, and continued forward to a house 60 yards from the objective. Although under constant enemy observation, the two men remained in this position for an hour, firing at targets of opportunity, killing more than 35 hostile soldiers, and wounding many more. Moving closer to the station and discovering a group of Japanese replacements attempting to reach pillboxes, they opened heavy fire, killed more than 40, and stopped all subsequent attempts to man the emplacements. Enemy fire became more intense as they advanced to within 20 yards of the station. Then, covered by his companion, Pvt. Rodriguez boldly moved up to the building and threw five grenades through a doorway, killing seven Japanese, destroying a 20-mm gun, and wrecking a heavy machine gun. With their ammunition running low, the two men started to return to the American lines, alternately providing covering fire for each other's withdrawal. During this movement, Pvt. Rodriguez' companion was killed. In 2 and one half hours of fierce fighting the intrepid team killed more than 82 Japanese, completely disorganized their defense, and paved the way for the subsequent overwhelming defeat of the enemy at this strongpoint. Two days later, Pvt. Rodriguez again enabled his comrades to advance when he singlehandedly killed six Japanese and destroyed a well-placed 20-mm gun. By his outstanding skill with his weapon, gallant determination to destroy the enemy, and heroic courage in the face of tremendous odds, Pvt. Rodriguez, on two occasions, materially aided the advance of our troops in Manila.