Ysmael R. Villegas [SEP] conflict
Ysmael R. Villegas
Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas (March 21, 1924 in Casa Blanca, California – March 20, 1945 in Luzon, Philippines), was a United States Army soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor – the United States' highest military decoration for his actions during World War II. On March 20, 1945, at age 20, Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas was killed in action during the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines. Villegas single-handedly cleared five enemy foxholes that had his squad pinned
when the cemetery opened in 1978. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) named Post #184 in Riverside the "Ysmael R. Villegas Memorial Casa Blanca Post" in his honor. A statue by sculpture Gary Coutrer, called Villegas Memorial, was dedicated on May 27, 1995, and is located on Main Street Civic Center Courtyard in Riverside. The Ysmael R. Villegas Middle School in Riverside is named in his honor.
Awards and decorations.
Among Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas' decorations and medals were the following: