An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Medal of Honor Monday: Army Cpl. Rodolfo Hernandez

You have accessed part of a historical collection on defense.gov. Some of the information contained within may be outdated and links may not function. Please contact the DOD Webmaster with any questions.

Some of our nation's biggest heroes come from humble beginnings. Army Cpl. Rodolfo Perez Hernandez can attest to that. The son of migrant farmers joined the Army to help earn money for his family in the late 1940s. He left the service a Medal of Honor recipient.

A man in uniform wears a medal around his neck.
Rodolfo Perez Hernandez
Army Cpl. Rodolfo Perez Hernandez, Medal of Honor recipient.
Photo By: Army
VIRIN: 210602-A-D0439-070

Hernandez was born April 14, 1931, in Colton, California, to David and Guadalupe, who emigrated from Mexico. At age 8, he left school to join his parents in picking crops in fields across the state to help provide for himself, his brother and two sisters.

By the time Hernandez was a teen, World War II had ended and many veterans had returned home, so there weren't many options for work. To continue bringing in money for his family, he joined the Army when he turned 17. He volunteered to be a paratrooper and was eventually assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. Inevitably, his unit was sent to Korea. 

On May 31, 1951, Hernandez's platoon was defending its position on a hill near Wontong-Ni, Korea, when they were attacked by a much larger enemy force. Heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire led to casualties and low ammunition, so the soldiers were ordered to withdraw.  

A man wearing a front-loaded parachute stands in the foreground with other men seated on benches behind him.
Awaiting Order
Army Cpl. Rodolfo Hernandez, a paratrooper, awaits orders in Korea.
Photo By: Army
VIRIN: 210602-A-D0439-069

Hernandez was bleeding profusely from a head wound caused by artillery shelling, but he wasn't ready to give up. He continued firing at incoming enemy soldiers until a ruptured cartridge made his rifle stop working. Hernandez later said that between the inoperable gun and his head wound, he thought that was the end of the road for him. So, instead of running for cover, he jumped out of his foxhole, threw several grenades and rushed the enemy. 

Armed with only that inoperable rifle and a bayonet, Hernandez killed six enemy soldiers before the combination of grenade shrapnel, bullet wounds and bayonet stabs knocked him unconscious. But thanks to his actions, the enemy's advance stalled, which led American troops to counterattack and retake their lost ground. 

Once the area was again secure, the corporal's men found him surrounded by dead enemy fighters. A New York Times article said that Hernandez was so badly wounded that his comrades initially thought he was dead and started to put him in a body bag before one of them finally saw his hand moving. 

Three men stand side by side with their hands folded beneath their waists.
Men of Honor
Army Secretary Frank Pace, center, stands with Army Cpl. Rodolfo P. Hernandez, left, and Army 1st Lt. Lloyd L. Burke in Pace's office a day after the men received Medals of Honor at the White House, April 13, 1952.
Photo By: Courtesy photo
VIRIN: 520413-O-D0439-027

Hernandez later learned that the head wound he suffered had sheared off part of his skull, paralyzing his right side. According to a 1967 issue of the Venice, California, Evening Vanguard newspaper, a bayonet had nearly ripped off his jaw. He had to relearn to walk and speak, and he learned to write with his left hand since his right was permanently damaged. 

Hernandez was still recovering when he received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman at a White House ceremony on April 12, 1952, two days before he turned 21. By then he was able to speak a few words again, but his brother, Gilbert, escorted him to the ceremony to help him walk and communicate. 

Hernandez spent years going in and out of hospitals, but his injuries didn't slow his drive. According to the New York Times, after he left the Army he studied business administration for three years at Fresno City College in Fresno, California. He got married, had three children and became a counselor in Los Angeles for the Veterans Administration, now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

A Marine in dress uniform pushes the wheelchair of an older man in a cowboy hat.
Rodolfo Hernandez
Army Cpl. Rodolfo Hernandez, a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient, is escorted to his seat before a parade at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, July 25, 2013.
Photo By: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dan Hosack
VIRIN: 130725-M-DL610-314M

Hernandez retired from the VA in 1979 and moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, near the base where he began his Army career. Despite never regaining the use of his right arm, he took up golf and played into his 70s. 

Hernandez's first marriage ended in divorce, but he remarried in 1995. He and his second wife, Denzil, were together until he died on Dec. 21, 2013. He was 82.

Hernandez is buried at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, North Carolina. 

This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have earned the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.

Related Stories