Jose F. Valdez

He covered a patrol withdrawal while wounded and under fire.

Jose Francisco Valdez was born on 3 January 1925 at Gobernador, New Mexico. His father died when he was a small child, and the family subsequently lived in Utah. Ranch work formed part of his early life. During the Second World War he joined the United States Army and became a private first class in Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

On 25 January 1945, Valdez was one of six soldiers holding an outpost near Bennwihr station, France, during the fighting in the Colmar Pocket. When a German tank approached, his rifle fire helped force it away. He then killed three enemy soldiers advancing through nearby woods. A much larger German force followed, threatening to surround the patrol.

Valdez volunteered to cover the withdrawal. The other men escaped while he remained exposed at the position. Although a bullet passed through his abdomen, he continued firing and used the field telephone to direct artillery and mortar support. For approximately fifteen minutes he called down fire close to his own position, helping break up the attack. He eventually crawled back to the American lines.

He died of his wounds in France on 17 February 1945, aged twenty. His action brought a posthumous Medal of Honor, announced in February 1946. His mother received the decoration. He was buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery, New Mexico, where his grave became a focus of remembrance for his family and community. The Navy later named the technical research ship USNS Private Jose F. Valdez in his honour.