Английская Википедия:Demensio Rivera

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Private Demensio Rivera (April 28, 1932 – March 19, 1967) was a United States Army veteran of the Korean War who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; the award was upgraded in 2014, decades after his death, to the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Demensio Rivera y Avilés was the youngest of five children born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico to Demensio Rivera Y Negrón and Dolores Avilés De Rivera. He was still a child when his parents moved to New York City, where he was raised.

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, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. When his unit was attacked by the enemy during the UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive, he delivered continuous and devastating fire at them with his automatic rifle until his weapon became inoperative. He employed his pistol and grenades and stopped the enemy within a few feet of his position. Rivera was seriously wounded and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest military decoration. His DSC was upgraded to the Medal of Honor and was posthumously awarded to him in 2014.

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.

Medal of Honor

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 his rifle became inoperative, Rivera employed his pistol and grenades, and eventually fought the enemy hand-to-hand and forced them back.

Rivera was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama 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.

Файл:U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Randall, left, accepts the Medal of Honor on behalf of her late grandfather, Pvt. Demensio Rivera, from President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C 140318-D-DB155-023.jpg

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.

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.

Honors, awards and decorations

Among Private Rivera's military decorations are the following:

Файл:Combat Infantry Badge.svg
Шаблон:Ribbon devices			Шаблон:Ribbon devices
Шаблон:Ribbon devices		Шаблон:Ribbon devices		Шаблон:Ribbon devices
Шаблон:Ribbon devices		Шаблон:Ribbon devices		Шаблон:Ribbon devices
Файл:Markesman Weapons Qual Badge.png

1	Combat Infantryman Badge
2	Medal of Honor			Purple Heart
3	Army Good Conduct Medal		National Defense Service Medal		Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star
4	Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation		United Nations Korea Medal		Korean War Service Medal
5	Marksmanship Badge with rifle bar

• In 2017 Demensio Rivera was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

See also

• List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of Puerto Rican military personnel
• List of Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor
• List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients