Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, is a civil holiday originating during and after the War Between the States. Its purpose is to honor those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The first known tomb which to have been officially honored was in Virginia where the first Civil War soldier’s grave was decorated. The soldier’s name was John Quincy Marr, who died on June 1, 1861. More soldiers’ graves were decorated a few years later in Jackson, Mississippi, Richmond, Virginia, and other towns until the first formal proclamation in 1868.

Most names are unknown to us today, unless we have family, friends, or loved ones who have died in United States wars over the past one hundred and sixty years or so.

This post remembers a selfless soldier named Euripides Rubio, born on March 1, 1938, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. I am taking the information verbatim from Chapter 17 of the book, Pay to the Order of Puerto Rico, by Alexander Odishelidze and Arthur Laffer.

“Captain Rubio was attached to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry of the U.S. Army. He had entered service at Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico. He was serving as his unit’s communications officer when it came under fire from the Viet Cong. Capt. Rubio and his fellow soldiers were badly outnumbered. The communist forces raked the American position with machine gun fire and launched mortar rounds and rifle grenades into the midst of the Americans.

“Had he remained where he was, Capt. Rubio might have been safe. Instead, he left his position and moved to the area where the firing was the most intense, distributing ammunition, tending to the wounded, and helping re-position the Army defenders. By exposing himself this way, he was wounded twice, but he kept on. When one of the battalion’s rifle company commanders was wounded and evacuated, Capt. Rubio quickly took command. Moving among his men to rally their spirits in the face of the devastating Viet Cong fusillade, he was wounded a third time.

“When more men were wounded, Capt. Rubio attended to them. [Then] he noticed something that put the company in danger of drawing friendly fire. A smoke grenade that had been dropped to mark the position of the Viet Cong for U.S. air strikes had fallen dangerously close to the American and Republic of Viet Nam lines. Rubio rushed to grab the smoke grenade and reposition it to safeguard his countrymen and our allies, when enemy fire drove him to his knees. Somehow, undeterred, he scooped up the grenade, ‘ran through the deadly hail of fire to within 20 meters of the enemy position,’ as the citation reads, and hurled the smoking grenade into the midst of the Viet Cong before collapsing for the final time.

“Using the grenade to target their attacks, allied air strikes were directed to destroy the Viet Cong forces and end their assault. As the citation further reads, “Capt. Rubio’s singularly heroic act turned the tide of battle, and his extraordinary leadership and valor were a magnificent inspiration to his men. His remarkable bravery and selfless concern for his men are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on Capt. Rubio and the U.S. Army.’

“Capt. Euripides Rubio died on November 8, 1966. He is one of four Puerto Ricans who have won the Congressional Medal of Honor. All four were killed in action.”

Capt. Euripides Rubio (1928 – 1966)