The man is Pedro Cano, born in Mexico and raised in Texas, he decided to enlist in the US Army in 1944.
Near Schevenhutte, Germany, in December 1944, his unit came under heavy fire from German machine guns. With his comrades pinned down, Private Cano worked his way forward alone, through a hail of fire and over more than 100 yards of heavily mined terrain until he was within 30 feet of the nearest German emplacement. Firing one round with his hand-held rocket launcher, he destroyed the position and killed 7 enemy soldiers. He then moved on toward a second emplacement, killing several more soldiers. Private Cano then crept to within 15 yards of a third emplacement, killed its 2 gunners with a rocket, and then destroyed yet another emplacement and killed its gunners, enabling that company to also advance.
The next day, the Americans once more encountered heavy German resistance, and Private Cano again moved forward alone with his bazooka. Crossing open, fire-swept ground, he succeeded in suppressing 3 more machine-gun positions and killing their gunners, bringing to nearly 30 the number of German soldiers he killed during that two-day period.
Sometime later, while on patrol, Private Cano and his platoon were surprised by German soldiers, who inflicted heavy casualties. Private Cano lay motionless on the ground until the assailants closed in, then tossed a grenade into their midst, wounding or killing all of them. However, more of them came and Pedro found himself alone, falling back. He found a small abandoned house and ran inside it for cover but the house was falling apart and they easily broke in but he pulled out a grenade with his middle finger (and after this action was done, kept his finger in this pose) and threw the grenade at them, killing them all. He was extremely injured and was returned to the States. On top of his 2 Silver Stars, Cano was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and most speculated that he did not receive the Medal of Honor due to him not being a US Citizen. On March 2014, Cano was finally awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, since he passed away in 1952 due to a tragic car accident.
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