Jose Rodela

Jose Rodela was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on June 15, 1937. He is of Mexican-American heritage. He grew up in the La Quarenta neighborhood of Corpus Christi, as the eldest of 12 children. Rodela attended Zavala Elementary School, Driscoll Middle School, and Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi. Times were difficult and he worked in restaurants and the fields during his youth. According to one source, he left school during his sophomore year (10th grade) to enlist in the U.S. Army. The options for full-time work and pay were limited. So, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1955 at the age of 17. This was a path to a better life. He served until 1975, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant.

His most noted action was on September 1, 1969, in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, while serving with Detachment B-36, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Then, a Company Commander with Special Forces, Detachment B-36, Rodela, and his company of Cambodian soldiers came under brutal assault. For 18 continuous hours, they were engaged in a firefight against a much larger enemy force. The odds were grim, the battlefield chaotic.

Despite being wounded by shrapnel, Rodela repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire – not once, not twice, but throughout the entire engagement. He moved across the battlefield under fire to attend to wounded soldiers, reorganize his defensive perimeter, and take out a hostile rocket position that was devastating his unit.

His actions were overlooked for decades. Maybe it was because he was Mexican-American, or just an enlisted guy or some bureaucratic reason. His valor was overlooked for decades, a wrong finally made right through the Pentagon’s review of valor awards, particularly for minority veterans.

It wasn’t until March 18, 2014, that President Barack Obama formally awarded Jose Rodela the Medal of Honor during a White House Ceremony.

Beyond Service

After retiring from the Army in 1975, Rodela worked as a mail handler for the U.S. Postal Service in Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Texas. He maintains a private life with little known about any spouse or children.