Navy Cross Awardee - Angel Mendez

Distinguished Veteran Awardee: Angel Mendez

Student Name: Angel Ocasio De Jesus

Veteran: Angel Mendez

United States Marine Corps, Sergeant

Navy Cross, 16 March 1967

    Angel Mendez was a Puerto Rican-born Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Mendez was born an August 8, 1946 to an Antonio Méndez Pomales, hailing from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and Martina Rivera García, hailing from Naguabo, Puerto Rico. One of 8 children, Mendez and his family moved from Puerto Rico to New York City, New York in the Puerto Rican diaspora in an effort to build a better life. Angel Mendez and his siblings found themselves in foster homes and an orphanage on Staten Island after their mother became gravely ill and the family’s economic situation careened. It was in Staten Island that Mendez received his primary and secondary education, and where he enlisted in the Marine Corps.

    Mendez volunteered to join the Marines in 1964 after graduating high school, training at the Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina. He was sent to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to attend the Marines School of Infantry and was assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Mendez was then deployed to South Vietnam, being assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

    Mendez was a part of Operation Desoto, which took place from January 27 to April 7, 1967. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on March 16, 1967 when conducting a search and destroy mission in Quang Ngai Province. Mendez’s company was attacked from its rear by heavy fire coming from a Viet Cong battalion. Half of the platoon was pinned down by fire with multiple attempts to relieve pressure failing. Sergeant Angel Mendez courageously volunteered to lead a squad out to provide aid to the pinned Marines. In the rush, Mendez’s platoon commander was wounded and unable to advance. Mendez rushed to the commander’s side to provide treatment to the commander’s wounds, using his body as a shield. He was shot in the shoulder as he brought his commander back. In the effort, Mendez stayed in the rear as a shield for his squadron and sacrificed his life to save his platoon commander. Only a colonel at the time, Angel Mendez was promoted to sergeant and was awarded the Navy Cross. Despite his father’s desire to be interred in Puerto Rico, Mendez lies on the grounds of the orphanage he was raised in on Staten Island, receiving a burial with full military honors. His name is etched in the Monument of Remembrance in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Bibliography

“Marine Corps L-R - Home of Heroes.” 2022. Home of Heroes. March 29, 2022. https://homeofheroes.com/distinguished-service-cross/vietnam-war/navy-cross/marine-corps-l-r/.

“MENDEZ-ANGEL | the United States Navy Memorial.” 2025. United States Navy Memorial. 2025. https://navylog.navymemorial.org/mendez-angel-0.

“Sgt. Angel Mendez Marine Corps League Detachment 246.” 2025. Sgt. Angel Mendez Marine Corps League Detachment 246. 2025. https://www.si-mcl.org/about.

Telfer, Gary, Lane Rogers, and V. Keith Fleming. 1984. “US Marines in VietnamL Fighting the North Vietnamese 1967.” Internet Archive. Washington, D.C: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. 1984. https://archive.org/details/FightingTheNorthVietnamese/page/n1/mode/1up.

“Week of January 24 | Vietnam War Commemoration.” 2021. Vietnamwar50th.com. 2021.    https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/education/week_of_january_24a/.

Source Assessment:

Strongest source – Identity the strongest academic source in your bibliography and in two-three sentences (less than 50 words) explain its strengths as a source.

My strongest academic source in my bibliography is likely the US Navy Memorial entry, as it comes from a source dedicated to keeping memory of these troops and discusses multiple facets of Mendez’s life. These include his upbringing and service.

Weakest source – Identity the weakest academic source in your bibliography and in two-three sentences (less than 50 words) explain its limitations as a source. 

My weakest academic source found in my bibliography is likely in https://www.si-mcl.org/about. as it does not have a clear author or publication date. Its information seems correct as it agrees with other sources in my bibliography, but is not very reliable or strong on its own.

Picture of Veteran and any other Relevant Images