Baldomero Lopez
| Baldomero Lopez | |
|---|---|
 
Baldomero López, Medal of Honor recipient
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|
| Born |
August 23, 1925 Tampa, Florida |
| Died | September 15, 1950 (aged 25) KIA at Incheon, South Korea |
| Place of burial | Centro Asturiano Memorial Park Cemetery Tampa, Florida |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch |
US Navy United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1943–1944 (USN) 1947–1950 (USMC) |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment |
| Battles/wars |
Korean War • Battle of Inchon † |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Baldomero López (August 23, 1925 – September 15, 1950) was a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for smothering a hand grenade with his own body during the Inchon Landing on September 15, 1950.
López was born on August 23, 1925, in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in the neighborhood of Ybor City. His father, also named Baldomero López, had immigrated to the United States from the Asturias region of Spain as a young man. The younger Lopez attended Hillsborough High School, where he was an accomplished basketball player and a regimental commander in the school's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. He enlisted in the United States Navy on July 8, 1943, shortly after graduating from high school, and served until June 11 of the next year.
He was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in the midst of World War II, and because of the ongoing war he and his classmates were placed in an accelerated three-year program. Upon graduating on June 6, 1947, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He attended The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, after which he became a platoon commander in the Platoon Leaders Class Training Regiment.
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