Fernando Luis García

{{Infobox military person

| name = Fernando Luis García

| birth_name = Fernando Luis García Ledesma

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|10|14}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1952|9|5|1929|10|14}}

| birth_place = Utuado, Puerto Rico

| death_place = near Panmunjom, Korea

| placeofburial = Puerto Rico National Cemetery, Bayamón, Puerto Rico

| placeofburial_label =

| image = Fernando Luis Garcia, USMC.jpg

| caption =

| nickname =

| allegiance = United States of America

| branch = {{Marines|United States|size=23px}}

| serviceyears = 1951–1952

| rank = 25px Private first class

| commands =

| unit = Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division

| battles = Korean War

Battle of Bunker Hill {{KIA}}

| awards = {{Dodseal|MOH|23}} Medal of Honor
File:Purple Heart ribbon.svg Purple Heart Medal

| laterwork =

}}

Fernando Luis García (October 14, 1929 – September 5, 1952) was a United States Marine Corps private first class who was killed in action during the Korean War and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty on September 5, 1952, during the Battle of Bunker Hill (1952). He was the first of nine Puerto Rican servicemen to be awarded the Medal of Honor and is the only Puerto Rican Marine to be awarded the medal.

Biography

García (birth name: Fernando Luis García Ledesma {{family name hatnote|García|Ledesma|lang=Spanish}}) was born in Utuado, Puerto Rico where he received his primary and secondary education. He moved to San Juan where he was hired by the Texas Company as a file clerk."Puertorriquenos Who Served With Guts, Glory, and Honor: Fighting to Defend a Nation Not Completely Their Own"; by Greg Boudonck (Author); ASIN: B00J12MXUS

= U.S. Marine Corps =

== Korean War ==

On September 19, 1951, García joined the United States Marines Corps and received his recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina. After he graduated from "boot camp", he was promoted to private first class in December{{Cite web |url=http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who's%20Who/G-I/Garcia_FL.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923085553/https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who%27s%20Who/G-I/Garcia_FL.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-09-23 |title=Marine Corps History Division |access-date=2016-01-07 }} and was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for more training before being sent to Korea in March 1952.

García was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. On the night of his death, he and his company were posted about {{convert|1|mi}} from the enemy lines at "Outpost Bruce" in the Bunker Hill area.[http://www.koreanwar2.org/kwp2/usmckorea/PDF_Monographs/KoreanWar.Stalemate.pdf Marine Corps History and Museum Division, Korean War Commemorative Series, 2001, Dept. of Defense-50th Anniversary of Korean War- "Stalemate, U.S. Marines from Bunker Hill to Hook" by Bernard Nalty] Chinese soldiers were attacking with artillery, mortars, and grenades. García was wounded and getting hand grenades from his acting platoon sergeant when an enemy grenade landed near them.Marine Corps History Division http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who's%20Who/G-I/Garcia_FL.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316183748/https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who%27s |date=2016-03-16 }} {{cite web |url=https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who's |title=Unknown |access-date=January 6, 2020}}{{dead link|date=January 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} García covered the grenade with his body, sacrificing himself to save the life of his fellow Marine who was wounded by the blast. García died instantly. For this heroic action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

García's remains were never recovered.

=Medal of Honor citation=

On October 25, 1953, García's parents were presented his Medal of Honor at a ceremony held in the Utuado City Hall.

{{quote|File:Moh right.gif

{{center|The President of the United States in the name of U.S. Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to:}}

{{center|PRIVATE FIRST CLASS FERNANDO L. GARCIA
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS}}

:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a member of Company I, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on September 5, 1952. While participating in the defense of a combat outpost located more than one mile forward of the main line of resistance during a savage night attack by a fanatical enemy force employing grenades, mortars and artillery, Private First Class Garcia, although suffering painful wounds, moved through the intense hall of hostile fire to a supply point to secure more hand grenades. Quick to act when a hostile grenade landed nearby, endangering the life of another Marine, as well as his own, he unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and immediately threw his body upon the deadly missile, receiving the full impact of the explosion. His great personal valor and cool decision in the face of almost certain death sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.}}

Awards and decorations

style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Medal of Honor ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=A light blue ribbon with five white five pointed stars}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Combat_Action_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=U.S. Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Korea).svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Republic_of_Korea_War_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}}

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
1st row \| style="text-align:center;" \|Medal of Honor{{cite book\|title=Who's Who in Marine Corps History\|publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps}} \| style="text-align:center;" \|Purple Heart Medal \| style="text-align:center;" \|Combat Action Ribbon
2nd row \| style="text-align:center;" \|Navy Unit Commendation \| style="text-align:center;" \|National Defense Service Medal \| style="text-align:center;" \|Korean Service Medal with two Service star
3rd row \| style="text-align:center;" \|Republic of Korea Presidential Citation \| style="text-align:center;" \|United Nations Service Medal \| style="text-align:center;" \|Korean War Service Medal

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

1st row

| style="text-align:center;" |Medal of Honor{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Marine Corps History|publisher=History Division, United States Marine Corps}}

| style="text-align:center;" |Purple Heart Medal

| style="text-align:center;" |Combat Action Ribbon

2nd row

| style="text-align:center;" |Navy Unit Commendation

| style="text-align:center;" |National Defense Service Medal

| style="text-align:center;" |Korean Service Medal with two Service star

3rd row

| style="text-align:center;" |Republic of Korea Presidential Citation

| style="text-align:center;" |United Nations Service Medal

| style="text-align:center;" |Korean War Service Medal

Honors

File:El Monumento de la Recordacion.jpg

There is a headstone with García's name in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico.[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7856991 Puerto Rico National Cemetery]
On February 5, 1959, the United States Marines Corps named a military camp in Vieques, Puerto Rico, "Camp García" in his honor.{{Cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/print.asp?story_id=6640&VIRIN=985&imagetype=1&page=1 |title=Camp Garcia Closes; AFWTF, VC-8 to Disestablish |access-date=2011-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050319000309/http://www.navy.mil/search/print.asp?story_id=6640&VIRIN=985&imagetype=1&page=1 |archive-date=2005-03-19 |url-status=dead }}
The United States Navy named the García class of ships in his honor, with the lead ship in the class ({{USS|Garcia|FF-1040|6}}) bearing his name, as well.[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/06021040.htm USS Garcia]
His name is inscribed in "El Monumento de la Recordación" (Monument of Remembrance), dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
His name is also inscribed in the "Wall of the Missing" located in the National Memorial of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, which honors the Medal of Honor recipients whose bodies have never been recovered.{{Cite web |accessdate=October 5, 2010 |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesites/national/0_hawaii.html |title=National Memorial of the Pacific}}
A monument commemorating his actions stands in his hometown of Utuado, Puerto Rico.
On November 11, 2008, the Government of Puerto Rico unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda the oil portrait of PFC Fernando Luis García.{{Cite web |url=http://kwp.org/html/units/usmc/5mareg_3.htm |title=5th Marine Regiment - 3rd Battalion |access-date=2011-12-22 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212746/http://kwp.org/html/units/usmc/5mareg_3.htm |url-status=dead }}
The American Legion Post 42 in Utuado, Puerto Rico was named American Legion Auxiliary, 42 Pfc Fernando Luis Garcia[http://www.nonprofitfacts.com/international/American-Legion-Auxiliary-42-Pfc-Fernando-Luis-Garcia. American Legion Auxiliary 42 Pfc Fernando Luis Garcia.]{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and a low income housing project, the Caserío Fernando Luis García in Utuado, is also named after García.[http://findplace.us/Puerto-Rico/Utuado/Caserio-Fernando-Luis-Garcia Caserio Fernando Luis Garcia]
In 2017 Fernando Luis Garcia was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.{{cite web | url=https://www.opv.pr.gov/salon-de-la-fama/salon-de-la-fama | title=Salón de la Fama }}

Notes

References

{{Cite web

|url = http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who/Garcia_FL.htm

|title = Private First Class Fernando Luis García, USMC

|work = Who's Who in Marine Corps History

|publisher = History Division, United States Marine Corps

|access-date = 2006-05-08

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060902195953/http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Historical/Whos_Who/Garcia_FL.htm

|archive-date = 2006-09-02

}}

{{Cite web

|url=http://www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/000003c919889c0385255fa40045ebcf?OpenDocument

|title=PFC Fernando L. García, Medal of Honor, 1952, 3/5/1, Korea

|work=Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor

|publisher=United States Marine Corps

|access-date=2006-05-08

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504142249/http://www.usmc.mil/moh.nsf/000003c919889c0385255f980058f5b6/000003c919889c0385255fa40045ebcf?OpenDocument

|archive-date=2006-05-04

|url-status=dead

}}