Monument Salutes Latino Medal of Honor Winners

A new monument in Bell Gardens honors Latinos who have received the United States military’s highest honor, and city officials hope it will help inspire some local youths to change their lives.

The Hispanic American Veterans Memorial--unveiled Saturday--honors 39 Latinos but is also dedicated to the 3,436 recipients of the Medal of Honor, given to servicemen and women as a symbol of their patriotism, honor and courage.

Six of the 149 living medal recipients dedicated the more than 80-foot-wide, 20-foot-high statue depicting a fallen soldier in the arms of an angel.

The memorial at Bell Gardens Veterans Park includes the names of the 39 Latinos. Two obelisks constructed behind and to the sides of the statue will bear the names of the other honorees.

“This is our community’s way of saying thank you,” Bell Gardens Mayor Ramiro Morales said before hundreds of veterans, family members and friends. “Today, we pay special tribute to the congressional Medal of Honor recipients. . . . The Hispanic American Veterans Memorial is long overdue.”

With a population that is 90% Latino, council members said it was important for the city’s youths to have examples of heroic individuals, said Phil Wagner, a city spokesman.

“They hope, through this, to educate the youth that fighting over street names is useless,” Wagner said.

Retired Chief Warrant Officer Louis Richard Rocco asked veterans to help young people resist the lure of gangs and crime.

Rocco said he spent much of his youth getting into trouble. It was an Army recruiter who helped him get his life on the right track, he said.

“Most of my youth I spent in and out of jail,” he said. “If it wasn’t for Sgt. Martinez, who recruited me, I’d probably be in San Quentin. Sgt. Martinez saved my life, got me out of the gangs, got me out of the barrios.”

Now, Rocco said, he works for Veterans Against Violence and Drugs, a program that helps children improve their self-esteem and stay in school.

He asked his fellow veterans and Medal of Honor winners to continue their acts of heroism, work for their country, and “step up and get involved in working with kids who need mentors.”

“Right now, the United States is building more prisons than schools,” Rocco said. “I’m asking you today to step up again.”