Demensio Rivera
Private First Class, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient, Korean War

Demensio Rivera was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on 29 April 1933, and he was still a child when his parents moved to New York City where he was raised. He joined the U.S. Army on 26 September 1950, in New York.

Then-Pvt. Demensio Rivera is being recognized for his actions while serving with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division at Changyongni, Korea, on 22-23 May 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.

Medals, Awards & Badges

Medal of Honor *
Purple Heart
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal with Bronze Service Star
United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Combat Infantryman Badge

* Medal of Honor

Seeking to correct potential acts of bias spanning three wars, and following a Congressionally-mandated review to ensure that eligible veterans were not bypassed due to prejudice, the Medal of Honor will be awarded to 24 Army veterans. The unusual mass ceremony, scheduled for 18 March 2014, will honor veterans, most of Hispanic or Jewish heritage, who had already received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest military award for valor. Only three of the recipients are living.

The Army conducted the review under a directive from Congress in the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act. The law required that the record of each Jewish American and Hispanic American veteran who received a Distinguished Service Cross, during or after World War II, be reviewed for possible upgrade to the Medal of Honor.

The Army reviewed the cases of the 6,505 recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and found an eligible pool of 600 soldiers who may have been Jewish or Hispanic. The Army also worked with the National Museum of American Jewish Military History, the Jewish War Veterans of the USA and the American GI Forum, the largest Hispanic-American veterans group, to pinpoint potential medal recipients. Of the 24, seven fought in World War II, nine in the Korean War, and eight in the Vietnam War.

Since the award of the Medal of Honor is an upgrade to the Distinguished Service Cross already received by PFC Rivera, it is based on the valorous actions in the Citation for his DSC.

Distinguished Service Cross Citation:

Pfc. Demensio Rivera, received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

Rivera distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces 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. With his automatic rifle, he delivered a continuous and devastating fire at the approaching enemy until this weapon became inoperative, whereupon he employed his pistol and grenades and stopped the enemy within a few feet of his position.

During a renewed attack, he fought the enemy hand-to-hand and forced them back. Finally, as an overwhelming number of the enemy closed in on him, he killed four of them with his only remaining grenade, although they were in such close proximity he was severely wounded by the same explosion. When his position was retaken, he was recovered, seriously wounded, and lying with the bodies of the four enemy dead or dying. Rivera’s fearless performance was a major factor in successfully repulsing the enemy’s attacks.