1. Sergeant First Class Modesto Cartagena de Jesus was a member of the United States Army who served in the 65th Infantry Regiment, a military regiment consisting of Puerto Rican enlisted soldiers and officers from the continental United States known as "The Borinqueneers," during World War II and the Korean War, becoming the most decorated Hispanic soldier in that war.
Modesto Cartagena is considered the most decorated Puerto Rican soldier of the Korean War.
In 1940, Modesto Cartagena enlisted in the US Army in San Juan, Puerto Rico and was assigned to the 65th Infantry, known as The Borinqueneers because, with the exception of the officer staff, it was made up of Puerto Rican enlisted men.
Modesto Cartagena gave first aid and helped remove the wounded.
Modesto Cartagena was discharged after the 65th Infantry Regiment returned to Puerto Rico in 1945.
Modesto Cartagena reenlisted in the Army in 1947 and was serving in Company H, 65th Infantry Regiment when he participated in Operation "PORTREX" 65th Infantry Regiment which took place in Vieques.
On October 19,2002, during a ceremony honoring the 65th Infantry, when he was asked about the battle, Modesto Cartagena responded that he just hurled back at the Chinese the grenades thrown at him.
Modesto Cartagena thought that the rest of the squad was behind him, and didn't realize most of them had been wounded and forced to take cover.
Modesto Cartagena, who had lost a lot of blood, was sent to Taibu in a helicopter and then to Japan to the 128th Station Hospital where he was hospitalized for 62 days.
Modesto Cartagena initially was awarded a Silver Star which was later upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military decoration of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force.
Sergeant Modesto Cartagena distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Yonch'on, Korea, on 19 April 1951.
Sergeant Modesto Cartagena, directed to move his squad forward in order to approach the enemy positions from another ridgeline, led his men toward the objective, but, almost immediately, the group was forced to seek cover from an intense and accurate volume of small-arms and automatic-weapons fire.
Locating the hostile emplacements that posed the greatest obstacle to the advance of the friendly forces, Sergeant Modesto Cartagena left his position and, charging directly into the devastating enemy fire he hurled a grenade at the first emplacement, totally destroying it.
Modesto Cartagena spent 20 years in the army before retiring as a sergeant first class in 1971.
Modesto Cartagena continued to be an active figure around the 65th Infantry headquarters in Puerto Rico long after his retirement.
Modesto Cartagena's supporters argued that the segregation policy of the army, at the time, and the limited English capacity of his company members when filling out the forms for the application, resulted in the awarding of the nations' second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross.
Modesto Cartagena was buried with military honors in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery located in the city of Bayamon.
Modesto Cartagena delivered to Cartagena's family a personal letter from Governor Luis Fortuno and stated that while Cartagena was actually being buried with a Distinguished Service Cross, "in our hearts we're sending him off with the Medal of Honor he deserves" and made a commitment to seek it posthumously.
In 2019 Modesto Cartagena was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.