servicemembers earned the nation’s highest military

These Hispanic- American

honor for valor. By Don Vaughan

T tnam

COMPOSITE ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD TUSCHMAN; INSET PHOTOS, USMC AND U.S. ARMY

The U.S. military always has been a melting pot of ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, a diverse amalgam of men and women whose mission is the ongoing defense of this great nation. Among them have been hundreds of thousands of Hispanic Americans, a minor- ity that has served with distinction from the American Revolutionary War through the cur- rent confl icts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Dur-

ing the Vietnam War, an estimated 80,000 Hispanic Americans served in the U.S. military in all capacities, and, to date, 23 have received the Medal of Honor for heroism on the battle- fi eld. Here are four of their stories.

From leſt , Ralph Dias, Alfred Rascon, Roy Benavidez, and Jay Vargas received the Medal of Honor for their service in Vietnam.

OCTOBER 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 55