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Kristy Crawford-Family
to remember
Cano, Pedro, Pvt.
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Contact Info
Home Town La Morita/General Teran, Nuevo Leon
Last Address Edinburg, Texas
Date of Passing Jun 24, 1952
Location of Interment Hillcrest Cemetery - Edinburg, Texas
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Private Pedro Cano, United States Army, for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company C, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division during combat operations against an armed enemy in Schevenhutte, Germany on 2 and 3 December 1944.
On the afternoon of the 2nd, American infantrymen launched an attack against German emplacements but were repulsed by enemy machinegun fire. Armed with a rocket launcher, Private Cano crawled through a densely mined area under heavy enemy fire and successfully reached a point within ten yards of the nearest emplacement. He quickly fired a rocket into the position, killing the two gunners and five supporting riflemen. Without hesitating, he fired into a second position, killing two more gunners, and proceeded to assault the position with hand grenades, killing several others and dispersing the rest. Then, when an adjacent company encountered heavy fire, Private Cano crossed his company front, crept to within fifteen yards of the nearest enemy emplacement and killed the two machine gunners with a rocket. With another round he killed two more gunners and destroyed a second gun.
On the following day, his company renewed the attack and again encountered heavy machinegun fire. Private Cano, armed with his rocket launcher, again moved across fire-swept terrain and destroyed three enemy machineguns in succession, killing the six gunners.
Private Cano's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
General Orders: Headquarters, Third U.S. Army, General Orders No. 90 (May 1, 1945) Action Date: December 2 & 3, 1944
Service: Army
Rank: Private
Company: Company C
Regiment: 8th Infantry Regiment
Division: 4th Infantry Division
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the award posthumously from US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington DC on March 18, 2014 (presented to his daughter) for his actions as a private in the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, US Army on December 2-3 1944 near Schevenhutte, Germany during World War II.
Born in Mexico, he came to the US with his family when he was two months old and grew up working as a farm laborer.
During World War II he joined the US Army (on 28 November 1942) and was sent to France following the D-Day invasion at Normandy on June 6, 1944. He saw action during the liberation of Paris and by the fall of that year his unit was engaged in heavy fighting with German defenses in the Hurtgen Forest.
In early December, his unit was pinned down under heavy machine gun fire and he single-handedly and successfully eliminated the enemy forces on several occasions over a two-day period, killing nearly 30 of them. Later, he was seriously wounded and was returned to the US for treatment at a Veterans Administration hospital. He was honorably discharged on 18 April 1945.
He was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his gallantry in April 1946 and became an American citizen soon afterwards.
He returned to farming but suffered from the effects of the war and was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 32.
In May 2010 he was honored by Texas Governor Rick Perry with the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
Following a congressional review of combat soldiers who may have been denied the nation's highest military award due to their race or ethnicity, his Distinguished Service Cross was replaced with the Medal of Honor.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, he received The Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with one service star), the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany clasp), and the Presidential Unit Citation. . . .
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Normandy Campaign (1944)
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
July / 1944
Description Normandy Campaign 6 June to 24 July 1944) Early on D-Day airborne troops landed in France to gain control of strategic areas. Aerial and naval bombardment followed. Then the invasion fleet, covered by an umbrella of aircraft, discharged Eisenhower’s assault forces. Soon the beachhead was secure, but its expansion was a slow and difficult process in the face of strong opposition. It was not until late in July that the Allies were able to break out of Normandy.
