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pistol and grenades. At one point, Private Rivera fearlessly crawled from his emplacement to engage an infiltrating enemy soldier in fierce hand-to-hand combat. With only the sound of footsteps and obscure shadows to guide his aim, Private Rivera held his position against tremendous odds, inflicting numerous casualties on the enemy until he found himself without ammunition of any kind except one grenade. Displaying a peerless fighting spirit and an utterly selfless devotion to duty, Private Rivera pulled the pin from his last grenade and calmly waited for the enemy to reach his position. As enemy troops leaped inside his bunker, Private Rivera activated the grenade with the full knowledge that it meant his almost certain death. When the debris from the explosion had cleared, friendly forces recovered a severely wounded
Private Rivera and discovered the bodies of four dead or dying enemy soldiers surrounding him.
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Private
Demensio Rivera distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an automatic rifleman with 2d Platoon, Company G, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Changyong-ni, Korea
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The bestowal of the Medal of Honor recognized Rivera for his actions at
Changyong-ni, Korea, May 22–23, 1951. When the outpost area occupied by his platoon was assaulted during the night, Rivera, an automatic rifleman, held his forward position tenaciously, although exposed to very heavy fire. When
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Early that morning, a large hostile force emerged from a dense fog and viciously attacked
Private Rivera and his comrades. Private Rivera immediately responded by firing with deadly accuracy until his weapon jammed. Without hesitating, he threw his rifle down and began to engage the enemy with his
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Rivera was residing in New York City where he died on March 19, 1967. His body was transferred to Puerto Rico. He was buried with full military honors in section C row K -184 at the
Cementerio San Miguel Arcangel located in Carretera PR-308, Parcelas Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo.
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The award came through the
Defense Authorization Act which called for a review of Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor.
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Private Rivera's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
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The
President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to:
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in a March 18, 2014 White House ceremony. Rivera was one of four Puerto Ricans to be honored that day and one of nine Puerto Ricans to have received the Medal of Honor.
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On
September 26, 1950, Rivera joined the United States Army in New York. In 1951, he was deployed to the Republic of Korea as a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion,
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Rivera's granddaughter, U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley
Randall, received the Medal of Honor on her late grandfather's behalf, from President Obama in 2014.
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his rifle became inoperative, Rivera employed his pistol and grenades, and eventually fought the enemy hand-to-hand and forced them back.
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650:"Private First Class Demensio Rivera | Valor 24 | Medal of Honor | The United States Army"
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to
Demensio Rivera Y Negrón and Dolores Avilés De Rivera. He was still a child when his parents moved to
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For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
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In 2022 Demensio Rivera was posthumously inducted to the 3rd Infantry Division Marne Hall of Fame.
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In 2017 Demensio Rivera was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.
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https://www.dvidshub.net/video/862336/3rd-infantry-division-inducts-new-marne-hall-fame
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694:"Obama will award Medal of Honor to 24 overlooked Army veterans"
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Among Private Rivera's military decorations are the following:
720:"Obama to Award Medal of Honor to 24 Army Veterans - ABC News"
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Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
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Medal of Honor Historical Society of the United States
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List of Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor
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681:Obama to award Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans.
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221:7th Infantry Regiment
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110:Years of service
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741:"SalĂłn de la Fama"
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48:Puerto Rico
877:Categories
801:Korean War
726:2014-02-22
705:2014-02-21
656:2014-03-31
652:. army.mil
625:References
187:Korean War
146:Korean War
83:Allegiance
201:Biography
113:1950–1951
44:Cabo Rojo
563:See also
535:In this
177:Private
93:Service/
541:surname
288:PRIVATE
552:Avilés
546:Rivera
510:Honors
152:Awards
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118:Rank
54:Died
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
