Modesto Cartagena

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Staff Sgt. Modesto Cartagena (born 1920 in Cayey, Puerto Rico) is the most decorated Puerto Rican soldier in history.



Staff Sgt. Modesto Cartagena


Distinguished Service Cross Medal

1 Biography
2 Military awards and decorations
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Cartagena was raised in the mountains of Cayey in a poor family during the Great Depression. At the outbreak of the Korean War, Cartagena enlisted in the U. S. Army in San Juan.

Cartagena was assigned to the 65th Infantry, which was also known as the Borinqueneers, because it was made up entirely of Puerto Rican enlisted men.

A Buck Sergeant in 1951 and assigned to Company C, 65 Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Cartagena, "with no regard for his own safety", as the official record states, left his position, and charged directly into devastating enemy fire, single-handedly destroying two enemy emplacements on Hill 206, near "Yonch'on", North Korea. After taking out the emplacements, he was knocked to the ground twice by exploding enemy grenades, nevertheless, he got up and attacked three more times, each time destroying an enemy emplacement until he was wounded. On October 19, 2002, during a ceremony honoring the 65th Infantry, when he was asked about the battle, Modesto responded that he just hurled back at the Chinese the grenades thrown at him. He thought that the rest of the squad was behind him, and didn't realize most of them had been wounded and forced to take cover.

Modesto Cartagena spent 20 years in the Army before retiring as a Staff Sergeant, in 1971. As of 2004, he lives in his native Cayey. Although long retired, he continues to be an active figure around the 65th Infantry Headquarters in Puerto Rico. He also has family in El Paso, Texas. His family, upon learning of Modesto's actions, have taken it upon themselves to make a request to Congress, that he be awarded the Medal of Honor. They have received support on this quest from the Republican Veterans Committee. His supporters argue that the segregation policy of the army, at the time, and the limited English capacity of his company members when filling out the forms for the application, resulted in the awarding of the nations' second highest decoration, "The Distinguished Service Cross".

According to 1st Lt. Reinaldo Deliz-Santiago: "Sgt. Cartagena's actions prevented much heavier casualties within my platoon and I feel that his courage and superior leadership and own initiative were decisive factors for the accomplishment of the mission of the unit".