Louis Gonzaga Mendez Jr.
Colonel Louis Gonzaga Mendez Jr. (July 14, 1915 – September 19, 2001) was a highly decorated United States Army officer of the 82nd Airborne Division who in June 1944, as commander of the 3rd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II, parachuted behind enemy lines into Normandy and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for leading an attack that captured the French town of Prétot-Sainte-Suzanne, in the Manche (Basse-Normandie) department. On June 6, 2002, the people of the village honored his memory by renaming Prétot's main square "La Place du Colonel Mendez". Early years Louis Gonzaga Mendez, a Mexican American, Spanish and Navajo Indian, was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on July 14, 1915. He graduated top of his class in high school. After serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CC), Mendez was appointed by Governor Bob Carr to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated from West Point in the Class of 1940, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Mendez earned his Parachutist Badge after attending the Army's United States Army Airborne School. World War II The United States entered World War II in December 1941, after which Mendez was eventually assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He rose to become commander of the 3rd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. On June 5–6, 1944, the paratroopers of the 82nd's three parachute infantry regiments and reinforced glider infantry regiment, who were stationed in England, boarded hundreds of transport planes and gliders and began the largest airborne assault in history. They were among the first soldiers to fight in Normandy, France. According to an article by Richard Pearson in the Washington Post, Mendez and his men were dropped behind German lines with the mission to "disrupt enemy communications, seize vital crossroads, destroy enemy supplies and kill enemy troops to aid the seaborne D-Day assaults on the Normandy beaches". Mendez and his men proceeded to capture the town of "Prétot Ste Suzanne". Mendez was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor. After the fighting in Normandy, Mendez continued to lead his battalion, which took part in Operation Market Garden, in September 1944. A combined US-British operation, according to the Arlington Cemetery website, it "sought to secure strategic river crossings behind German lines in the Low Countries". Although, elements of the operation proved unsuccessful, the 82nd Airborne Division was able to capture its objectives. The Germans began a counter-offensive along the Western Front in December 1944, resulting in the Battle of the Bulge. Having been taken by surprise, Allied troops were initially pushed back from the front, before launching a counterattack two days later. This effort included Mendez and his battalion, "who advanced as infantrymen", halting General Gerd von Rundstedt's advance in the north. Post-World War II Mendez continued his academic education and military career after the war. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He