Miguel Vera

Some acts of courage are remembered for generations. Others take decades to receive the recognition they deserve. Private Miguel Armando "Nando" Vera, a young Puerto Rican soldier who gave his life protecting his comrades during the Korean War, demonstrated a level of selflessness that would ultimately earn him America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.

Born on 3 May 1932 in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, Miguel Armando Vera joined the United States Army at just seventeen years old. Driven by a commitment to serve, he became an infantry soldier and was assigned as an automatic rifleman to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. His service brought him to the brutal battlefields of Korea, where American forces faced relentless enemy attacks across the rugged hills and defensive positions surrounding Chorwon.

On 21 September 1952, Vera's courage would be tested in an extraordinary way. His company was participating in an assault to recapture the right sector of Old Baldy, a strategically important hill position. Despite having suffered wounds during an earlier engagement, Vera voluntarily left the aid station and returned to join his comrades in the attack. As the advancing soldiers approached within approximately twenty yards of heavily fortified enemy positions, they were struck by intense mortar, artillery and small-arms fire. The assaulting force was forced to withdraw and reorganize.

But someone had to protect the retreating soldiers.

Vera volunteered to remain behind and provide covering fire. Knowing the danger, he held his position as his comrades moved towards safety. Under concentrated enemy fire, he continued directing accurate fire against the hostile positions, refusing to abandon the ground that would allow his fellow soldiers to withdraw. When American troops returned later that morning, they discovered Vera still facing the enemy, having sacrificed his life to protect the men beside him. His extraordinary bravery and self-sacrifice saved many of his comrades.

For his actions, Vera was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, America's second-highest military decoration for combat valor. However, his story was not finished. Following a congressionally authorized review of military records involving Hispanic and Jewish American servicemembers, his extraordinary actions were reconsidered. On 18 March 2014, more than six decades after his death, President Barack Obama posthumously presented Miguel Armando Vera with the Medal of Honor. His nephew, Joe Rodriguez, accepted the nation's highest military recognition on his behalf at the White House.

The recognition of Vera's sacrifice was also marked by a final journey home. After initially being laid to rest in Puerto Rico, his remains were transferred from the Utuado Municipal Cemetery to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on 20 November 2014. He was buried with full military honours in Section 71, ensuring that his courage would be remembered among the nation's most distinguished military heroes.

Private Miguel Armando Vera was only twenty years old when he fell at Old Baldy. Yet his final act represented something far greater than his years. He was a soldier who placed the lives of his comrades above his own, a son of Puerto Rico who served with distinction in the United States Army, and a Korean War hero whose courage ultimately received the recognition it deserved. His Medal of Honor stands as a lasting tribute to his sacrifice and to the extraordinary courage of the soldiers who never returned home.