Ysmael R. Villegas - World War II

World War II

On March 1, 1945, Villegas' company found itself engaged in combat against Japanese forces at Villa Verde Trail on Luzon Island in the Philippines, in what is known as the Battle of Luzon. His squad was attacked by an enemy machinegun nest. Villegas took it upon himself to save his squad by destroying the nest and its occupants. For his actions he was awarded the Silver Star medal.

On March 20, 1945, Villegas was ordered to lead his squad in an advance which would result in the taking of a hill. They confronted an enemy which was entrenched and who attacked them with heavy machinegun and rifle fire. He led his men towards the crest of the hill and then upon his own initiative attacked five enemy foxholes, killing all of its occupants. Villegas was mortally wounded when he attacked the sixth foxhole.

On October 19, 1945, President Harry S. Truman, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Villegas, presenting the medal to his surviving family.

Read more about this topic:  Ysmael R. Villegas

Famous quotes containing the words world and/or war:

    Thou all sweetness dost enclose
    Like a little world of bliss.
    Beauty guards thy looks: the rose
    In them pure and eternal is.
    Thomas Campion (1567–1620)

    Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.
    Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus, 44:14.

    The line “their name liveth for evermore” was chosen by Rudyard Kipling on behalf of the Imperial War Graves Commission as an epitaph to be used in Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Kipling had himself lost a son in the fighting.