From September 15th through October 15th, the U.S. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. The holiday was created to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States, and this article will also highlight Hispanic contributions to the U.S. Military.
According to the Department of Defense, over sixteen percent of the United States military is Hispanic, and since the Civil War sixty-one service members of Hispanic or Latino heritage have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest medal for valor.
The first Medal of Honor recipient was Joseph De Castro, who enlisted in the Union Army’s volunteer forces at the age of 16, joining approximately 10,000 other Hispanic-Americans who fought in the Civil War. His Medal of Honor moment came at the Battle of Gettysburg, where he refused to flee after being separated from his unit, eventually managing to capture the flag of the Confederate Army’s 19th Virginia Regiment and delivering it to his commanding officers. De Castro was the first of three Hispanic Americans to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
Artist’s depiction of Joseph De Castro, from Battlefields.org
Hispanic Americans continued to participate in American wars with great impact, from the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American war to the 65th Infantry Regiment in WWI that marked the U.S. Military’s last segregated unit.
After the military became de-segregated, there were still units that were comprised of a majority of Hispanic Americans like the Arizona National Guard's 158th Infantry Regiment;, the "Bushmasters" during World War II. Gen. Douglas MacArthur called this regiment, "one of the greatest fighting combat teams ever deployed for battle." Over 500,000 Hispanic service members served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, the biggest number ever up to this point.
In more recent times, Hispanic service members have been awarded some of the highest honors for exceptional bravery in the line of duty. From Master Sergeant Leroy A. Petry, who earned his Medal of Honor for picking up a live grenade and throwing it away from his fellow Army Rangers during one of his tours in Afghanistan to Rear Admiral Christina M. Alvarado, the first nurse to command a Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility, new achievements are consistently being made by Hispanic service members.
Staff Sergeant Henry Meza said it best as he reflected on his heritage and time in the National Guard about the importance of Hispanic service members, “it helps make the National Guard stronger because you have Soldiers from different walks of life. You can relate to people in the civilian world who might think it’s not for them, and then they see somebody who’s like them and they think, ‘Maybe this can be for me.’”
Hispanic service members have had a profound impact on the United States military, along with this nations culture and history, and we at IHG® Army Hotels want to thank them for their service.