24 Can’t Settle Score: Latino Vets See Racism Despite Medals
By Bill Briggs, NBCNews
One man slithered across an open field toward a manned tank, climbed atop and chucked in a grenade, saving his exposed company.
Two others held their ground — each alone — firing into enemy thickets while fellow troops escaped and until the heroes, inevitably, were killed.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans — 17 Latinos (including Sgt. Eduardo C. Gomez, Master Sgt. Mike C. Pena and Pvt. Miguel A. Vera) plus five Jewish vets.
The ceremony ends a Congress-ordered review of old battlefield heroism potentially overlooked by past commanders due to ethnic prejudices.
But when it comes to that elite, gold-plated star — awarded for valor “beyond the call of duty” — some Latino veterans say such racial biases remain entrenched at the Pentagon.
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[Photo by Brett Whaley]