Garcia, Macario, 1920-1972

Winner of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in World War II, Macario Garcia was born in Villa de Castaño, Mexico, and later settled in Sugar Land, Texas. The U.S. Army drafted Garcia in 1942. On November 27, 1944, near Grosshau, Germany, he single-handedly assaulted two German machine gun emplacements that were blocking his company's advance. Wounded in the shoulder and foot, he crawled forward alone toward the machine-gun nests, killed six enemy soldiers, captured four, and destroyed the nests with grenades. Only after the company had secured its position did Garcia allow himself to be evacuated for medical treatment.

President Harry S. Truman awarded Garcia the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony on August 23, 1945. Garcia also received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge, as well as the medal of Mérito Militar, the Mexican equivalent to the Medal of Honor, during a ceremony in Mexico City on January 8, 1946.

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