Ysmael Reyes Villegas

Five foxholes fell before his final charge on Luzon in 1945.

Ysmael R. Villegas, known as “Smiley,” earned the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Luzon in World War II. A staff sergeant and squad leader in Company F, 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, he led men of the Red Arrow Division through fierce fighting along the Villa Verde Trail in the Philippines.

Born on 21 March 1924 in Casa Blanca, Riverside County, California, Ysmael Reyes Villegas became a combat leader whose courage was demonstrated in two extraordinary actions. On 1 March 1945, he attacked and eliminated a Japanese machine-gun position threatening his squad. His gallantry earned the Silver Star.

On 20 March, one day before his twenty-first birthday, Villegas faced Japanese defenders entrenched in connected caves and foxholes. Moving among his men through grenades, demolition charges and machine-gun fire, he encouraged them toward the hillcrest. When enemy riflemen continued firing, he charged their foxholes at close range. He destroyed five occupied positions in succession and was killed while advancing toward a sixth. Inspired by his example, his men pressed their attack and drove the defenders from the field.

His posthumous Medal of Honor was announced in War Department General Orders No. 89, dated 19 October 1945. On 1 November 1945, the medal was presented to his widow, Lillian Villegas, at Camp Haan, California. His service is also recognized by the Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star for Luzon, the World War II Victory Medal and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. His regiment received the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation for service during the qualifying period.

Villegas left a legacy of leadership measured in the lives of the men he inspired and the ground they carried forward to take.

Medal of Honor citation

He was a squad leader when his unit, in a forward position, clashed with an enemy strongly entrenched in connected caves and foxholes on commanding ground. He moved boldly from man to man, in the face of bursting grenades and demolition charges, through heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, to bolster the spirit of his comrades. Inspired by his gallantry, his men pressed forward to the crest of the hill. Numerous enemy riflemen, refusing to flee, continued firing from their foxholes. S/Sgt. Villegas, with complete disregard for his own safety and the bullets which kicked up the dirt at his feet, charged an enemy position and, firing at point-blank range, killed the Japanese in a foxhole. He rushed a second foxhole while bullets missed him by inches and killed one more of the enemy. In rapid succession he charged a third, a fourth, a fifth foxhole, each time destroying the enemy within. The fire against him increased in intensity, but he pressed onward to attack a sixth position. As he neared his goal, he was hit and killed by enemy fire. Through his heroism and indomitable fighting spirit, S/Sgt. Villegas, at the cost of his life, inspired his men to a determined attack in which they swept the enemy from the field.