#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Guadalupe Velasquez

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Guadalupe Velasquez. Guadalupe served during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1972.

Guadalupe was born Feb. 1950 in Alamo, Texas. He enlisted in the Army in 1969 and was deployed to Vietnam while assigned to B and D Company, 1^st Battalion, 20^th Infantry Regiment in 1970. During his deployment with B Company, Guadalupe was involved in a fire fight with enemies where he had observed multiple injured soldiers and he made his way to them in order to administer first aid where he then provided cover fire to his fellow soldiers so that they could move the wounded soldiers to safety near Mo Duc District.

For his service, Guadalupe was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross and various other awards. He enjoyed collecting and tinkering with collectables after he left the service in order to cope. He married Elodia Ybarra on July 1971 and remained married for 47 years until his passing in Dec. 2018. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a son and four grandchildren.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Graphic by Cynthia Tong: Cynthia is a senior at New York University studying Public Policy.