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               Emilio A. De La Garza
                                     Medal of Honor Recipient, Vietnam
                            Above and beyond the call of duty, he gallantly
                                   gave his life for his country, age 19

 
 
 

Rank and organization:

Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company E, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. 
 
 

Place and date:

Near Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, 11 April 1970.
 

Entered service at:

Chicago, Illinois
 
 

Born: 

23 June 1949
East Chicago, Indiana
 
 


Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Company E,  he gave his life for his fellow Marines.   Lance Corporal De La Garza placed himself  between other marines and the ensuing blast from the grenade, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice of his life.
 
Returning with his squad from a night ambush operation, L/Cpl. De La Garza joined his platoon commander and another marine in searching for 2 enemy soldiers who had been observed fleeing for cover toward a small pond. Moments later, he located 1 of the enemy soldiers hiding among the reeds and brush.

As the 3 marines attempted to remove the resisting soldier from the pond, L/Cpl. De La Garza observed him pull the pin on a grenade.

Shouting a warning, L/Cpl. De La Garza placed himself between the other 2 marines and the ensuing blast from the grenade, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice of his life.

By his prompt and decisive action, and his great personal valor in the face of almost certain death, L/Cpl. De La Garza upheld and further enhanced the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. 
 

Personal information:  Married


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