Battle of the Bulge Medal of Honor Recipient: Jose Mendoza Lopez

Quick answer: Who was Jose Mendoza Lopez?

Jose Mendoza Lopez was a Mexican-born sergeant in Company K, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, who on December 17, 1944, near Krinkelt, Belgium, held off advancing German troops with a heavy machine gun, allowing his company to withdraw. He received the Medal of Honor and later served in Korea, retiring as a master sergeant in 1973.

Jose Mendoza Lopez was born on July 10, 1910, in Mexico, although his military records list Mission, Texas. He never knew his father, lost his mother to tuberculosis when he was eight, and made his way to the Rio Grande Valley on his own. From 1927 to 1934 he boxed professionally as "Kid Mendoza," and from 1935 he worked in the Merchant Marine. He was at sea headed for the United States when he heard about Pearl Harbor. In 1942 he married Emilia Herrera in Brownsville, his wife of 62 years. Short and stocky, five-foot-five and 130 pounds, he was assigned to Company K, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, and landed in Normandy on June 7, 1944. He was wounded early and refused evacuation. He fought in the hedgerows near Saint-Lo and at Brest and stayed in combat through the rest of 1944. On December 17, 1944, at the start of the Battle of the Bulge, his company was near Krinkelt, Belgium, when German infantry and tanks threatened to outflank it. Lopez took his heavy machine gun to a shallow hole on the flank and fired into the advancing troops. Knocked down by a tank shell, he recovered, moved, and kept firing. His citation credits him with killing at least 100 of the enemy and says he was "almost solely responsible for allowing Company K to avoid being enveloped, to withdraw successfully and to give other forces coming in support time to build a line which repelled the enemy drive." He received the Medal of Honor on June 18, 1945. He reenlisted in 1949, fought in Korea until an officer learned he held the Medal of Honor and ordered him to the rear, and retired as a master sergeant in 1973. He jogged until he was 88. He died on May 16, 2005, and is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.

Why it matters for leaders: Lopez acted on his own initiative at the moment his company needed it most.

Q: Where did Lopez earn the Medal of Honor?

A: Near Krinkelt, Belgium, on December 17, 1944, during the opening of the Battle of the Bulge.

Q: Where is Lopez buried?

A: At Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation