Eduardo Corral Gomez
Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient, Korean War

Eduardo Corral Gomez, was born in Los Angeles, CA, on 28 October 1919. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 9 February 1949.

Then-Sgt. Eduardo Gomez distinguished himself on 3 September 1950 while serving with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division, by defending his company as it was ruthlessly attacked by a hostile force. Notably, Gomez maneuvered across open ground to successfully assault a manned tank. Wounded during his retreat from the tank, Gomez refused medical attention, instead manning his post and firing upon the enemy until his company formed a defensive perimeter.

Medals, Awards & Badges

Medal of Honor *
Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
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 SFC Gomez, it is based on the valorous actions in the Citation for his DSC.

Distinguished Service Cross Citation:

The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded to Sgt. Eduardo C. Gomez, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action, while serving with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division, Sept. 3, 1950, at Tabu-dong, Korea.

While readying defensive positions, his company was ruthlessly attacked at approximately 1 a.m., by a hostile force comprised of an infantry regiment and spearheaded by two T-34 tanks, the foremost of which moved to within 75 yards of the command post before it was immobilized by rocket fire, but its main battery and machine-guns continued to rake the company perimeter with devastating fire. Realizing the tank posed a serious threat to the entire perimeter, Gomez voluntarily, and fully aware of the odds against him, crawled thirty yards across an open rice field vulnerable to enemy observation and fire, boarded the tank, and, prying open one of the hatches on the turret, dropped an activated grenade into the hull, killing the crew. Wounded in the left side while returning to his position, he refused to be evacuated. Observing that the tripod of a .30 caliber machine-gun was rendered inoperable by enemy fire, he cradled the weapon in his arms, returned to the forward defensive positions, and swept the assaulting force with withering fire. Although his weapon overheated and burned his hands and his painful wound still bled, he maintained his stand and, upon orders to withdraw in the face of overwhelming enemy superiority, remained to provide protective fire. Then, retiring slowly, he continued to pour accurate fire into the ranks of the enemy, which exacted a heavy toll in casualties and retarded the enemy’s advance. Gomez would not consent to leave his post for medical attention until the company established a new defensive position. [Citation represents Soldier's rank at time of action]