FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Rodolfo P. Hernandez ~ 02 October 2023

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[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

Rodolfo P. Hernandez
Info from here.

           

Rodolfo Perez "Rudy" Hernandez (April 14, 1931 - December 21, 2013) was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor America's highest military decoration for his actions in the Korean War. Despite his wounds, Hernandez's actions during an enemy counterattack near Wonton-ni allowed his platoon to retake their defensive position.

Hernandez, a Mexican-American, was one of eight children born to a farmworker. At a young age his family moved from Colton where Hernandez was born, to Fowler, California, where he received his primary education. In 1948, when he was 17 years old, he joined the United States Army with his parents' consent. After completing his basic training, Hernandez volunteered for paratrooper school. Upon the completion of his paratrooper training he was sent to Germany, where he was stationed until the outbreak of the Korean War.

On August 27, 1950, the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment was reorganized and redesignated as the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. The unit was quickly sent to Korea. The 187th Airborne performed operations into Munsan-ni Valley, and fought bloody battles at Inje and Wonton-ni. Hernandez was reassigned to Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. His platoon was ordered to defend Hill 420, located near Wonton-ni. On May 31, 1951, his platoon was the object of a numerically superior enemy counterattack. A close-quarters firefight broke out when enemy troops surged up the hill and inflicted numerous casualties on the platoon. Hernandez was wounded during the attack, but was able to fire upon the rushing enemy troops. After a cartridge in his rifle ruptured, he continued attacking the enemy with his bayonet. His attack enabled his comrades to regroup and take back the hill.

A grenade explosion that blew away part of his brain knocked him unconscious. Hernandez, who had received grenade, bayonet, and bullet wounds, appeared dead to the first medic who reached him, Keith Oates. Oates realized, however, that Hernandez was still alive when he saw him move his fingers. Hernandez woke up a month later in a military hospital, unable to move his arms or legs or to talk. On April 12, 1952, President Harry S. Truman bestowed upon Hernandez the Medal of Honor in a ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden. After many surgeries and physical therapy over a five-year period, Hernandez regained limited use of his right arm and learned to write with his left hand.

Hernandez married and had three children. He retired from a job at the Veterans Administration and lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Carteret County Veterans Council named Hernandez one of two grand marshals of its November 11, 2006, annual Veterans Day Parade held in downtown Morehead City. On November 10, 2007, he was again co-grand marshal of the Morehead City Veterans Day Parade. During the event, he was reunited with his rescuer "from a long and far away battlefield," the former Korean War Army medic and current Morehead City resident, Keith Oates. Hernandez was also the Grand Marshal of the 2012 North Carolina Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony held each Memorial Day in Thomasville, NC, and attended as an honored guest in 2013. Hernandez died at Womack Army Medical Center in Fayetteville on December 21, 2013. He had been battling "cancer and several other ailments" in the last month of his life.

Medal of Honor Citation

Rodolfo P. Hernandez

Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company G, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team
Place and date: Near Wontong-ni, Korea, May 31, 1951
Entered service at: Fowler, California
Born: April 14, 1931, Colton, California
G.O. No.: 40, April 12, 1952

Cpl. Hernandez, a member of Company G, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. His platoon, in defensive positions on Hill 420, came under ruthless attack by a numerically superior and fanatical hostile force, accompanied by heavy artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire which inflicted numerous casualties on the platoon. His comrades were forced to withdraw due to lack of ammunition but Cpl. Hernandez, although wounded in an exchange of grenades, continued to deliver deadly fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants until a ruptured cartridge rendered his rifle inoperative. Immediately leaving his position, Cpl. Hernandez rushed the enemy armed only with rifle and bayonet. Fearlessly engaging the foe, he killed 6 of the enemy before falling unconscious from grenade, bayonet, and bullet wounds but his heroic action momentarily halted the enemy advance and enabled his unit to counterattack and retake the lost ground. The indomitable fighting spirit, outstanding courage, and tenacious devotion to duty clearly demonstrated by Cpl. Hernandez reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[lightman]

“O beautiful for heroes proved....”

WOW!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[The Mayor]

October 2

The Masterpiece Within

Bible in a Year:

• Isaiah 14–16
• Ephesians 5:1–16

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

Ephesians 2:10 Writing in The Atlantic, author Arthur C. Brooks tells of his visit to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, which contains one of the largest collections of Chinese art in the world. The museum guide asked, “What do you think of when I ask you to imagine a work of art yet to be started?” Brooks said, “An empty canvas, I guess.” The guide replied, “There’s another way to view it: The art already exists, and the job of artists is simply to reveal it.”

In Ephesians 2:10, the word handiwork, sometimes translated as “workmanship” or “masterpiece,” is from the Greek word poiēma, from which we derive our word poetry. God has created us as works of art, living poems. However, our art has become obscured: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (v. 1). To paraphrase the words of the museum guide, “The art [of us] is already there, and it’s the job of the Divine Artist to reveal it.” Indeed, God is restoring us, His masterpieces: “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive” (vv. 4–5).

As we go through challenges and difficulties, we might take comfort in knowing that the Divine Artist is at work: “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). Know that God is working in you to reveal His masterpiece. .

Reflect & Pray

What are some of the ways that you, as God’s artwork, have become dimmed? How do you feel He’s working in your life these days?

Creator God, thank You for making me one of Your masterpieces.

[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, thanks for honoring tonight’s Hero!

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

[AbnSarge]

Thank you all for being worth serving

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, lighman...proved for sure!

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Have you managed to keep most, if not all, leaves on your deck cleared off? I see it’s a wet day up there.
It sure looks different up there now. Last time I could see around Lake Hood, the trees were green. Not so now. Lots of fall color.
They FINALLY got the live cam working again late last night, sort of. It’s still “hitchy” but we can see the area again.

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Rodolfo P Hernandez ~

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[radu]

You're quite welcome. A tip o' da hat to you. :-)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...any cooperation from the weather? Any Blue time?

It’s been raining here...again.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening,, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Hope you had a restful and healing weekend.

[left that other site]

YES! I got a little ride in today. Nowhere in particular, just in the wind for about 60 miles. It felt SO GOOD!

CB-)

(Happy face with helmet and goggles)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...a hero for sure.

More rain here, and lots more leaves falling.

[Kathy in Alaska]

lightman !!

1st!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

ML !!

2nd!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

The Mayor !!

3rd!!

[luvie]

Rodolfo Perez "Rudy" Hernandez
April 14, 1931 - December 21, 2013
United States Army
Medal of Honor recipient
for his actions in the Korean War
What a brave hero!