Master Sergeant JUAN E. NEGRON - DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS

Master Sergeant JUAN E. NEGRON , RA10406243, United States Army. Sergeant Negron, a member of an Infantry regiment, distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against the enemy in the vicinity of Kalma-Eri, Korea. On 28 April 1951, Sergeant NEGRON took up the most vulnerable position on his company's exposed right flank after an enemy force had overrun a section of the line. When notified that elements of the company were withdrawing, Sergeant NEGRON refused to leave his exposed position, but delivered withering fire at hostile troops who had broken through a road block. When the hostile troops approached his position, Sergeant NEGRON accurately hurled hand grenades at short range, halting their attack. Sergeant NEGRON held the position throughout the night, while an allied counter attack was organized and launched. After the enemy had been repulsed, fifteen enemy dead were found only a few feet from Sergeant NEGRON'S position. The extraordinary heroism exhibited by Sergeant NEGRON on this occasion reflects great credit on himself and is in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service. Entered the Federal service from Puerto Rico.

MSgt. Juan E. Negron was born and raised in Corozal, Puerto Rico; in 1948 he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 65th Infantry Regiment. M. Sgt. Negron was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross for action on April 28th 1951. On March 18th 2014, his Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a ceremony in the White House. The award comes through the National Defense Authorization Act which called for a review of Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor. Juan E. Negron will be amongst three other Puerto Ricans whose Distinguished Service Cross Medal will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States. He will also have the distinction of being the only member of the 65th Infantry Regiment to be honored with the Medal of Honor; his award citation remains the same as his Distinguished Service Cross citation. Most of this information came from the article about Juan E. Negron on Wikipedia, those who want to read the original article can do so at

Juan Negron

* GENERAL ORDERS - NUMBER 588 - 21 June 1953 * Is the original source document for the D.S.C