On September 3, 1950 Sgt. Eduardo C. Gomez and the soldiers from I Co., 3-8 1st CavDiv came under attack while manning an outpost near Tabu-dong, Korea.
With the enemy as close as 75 yards, under heavy MG and shell fire, Sgt. Gomez crawled towards an enemy T34 tank, climbed on top of it, pried open a hatch and tossed a grenade inside the hull; killing the entire crew. At the moment, Gomez was severely wounded on the left side by shrapnel.
Regardless, he made his way back to friendly positions, and after refusing evacuation orders, he observed that the tripod of a .30 Cal MG was rendered inoperable by enemy fire.
He cradled the weapon in his arms and began unleashing a barrage of fire towards the oncoming enemy. Although his weapon overheated and burned his hands and his painful wound still bled, Sgt. Gomez maintained his stand and, upon orders to withdraw in the face of overwhelming enemy superiority, remained to provide protective fire.
He continued to pour accurate fire into the enemy ranks, exacting a heavy toll in casualties and retarding their advance. Sgt. Gomez never left his post for medical attention until the company established new defensive positions.
Sgt. Gomez would survive his wounds and the war and lived a quite life in Mexico until his death in 1972.
It wasn’t until March 18, 2014 that Sgt. Gomez would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions.
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