Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Maximino Hernandez, who served as an infantryman gunner during World War II and received a Purple Heart.
Maximino Hernandez joined the Army in 1941 and began basic training at Camp Tortuguero in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. After he completed basic training, the Army assigned him to the 65th Infantry Regiment of Company M, for which he served as an infantryman gunner. Hernandez served until 1945 in campaigns in the Rhineland in western Germany and throughout Central Europe.
Hernandez received several awards during his time in the Army. He received a Purple Heart after being wounded in a vehicle accident during tactical maneuvers. He also earned a Combat Infantryman Badge for engaging in combat. Along with those individual awards, Hernandez received a European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze stars for serving in the European Theater of Operations during World War II and an American Defense Service medal with a Foreign Service Clasp for serving outside of the continental United States between Sept. 8, 1939 and Dec. 7, 1941, and a World War II Victory Medal. Hernandez also received seven Overseas Service Bars.
After leaving the Army, Hernandez moved to Wisconsin and worked at a steel casting company. He currently lives in his hometown of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, with his daughter. Hernandez turned 100 years old in November 2019.
Thank you for your service!
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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.
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It seems silly that I have to go through registration at every base I want to go to.
My VA service connected card only has limited room for multiple bar codes.
Today 01/10/2019, I was given entrance access to the Naval Base San Diego and was told that I may not and am not allowed to bring my wife as my guest to shop at the Exchange or the Commissary. It’s very disappointing to not be allowed entry to the base with my wife as my guest as we always are together when we go shopping. I am referring to an excerpt from the US Department of Veterans Affairs blogs.va.gov indicating that the veteran may bring guest into the base so long as the guest is able to provide a government issued documents as identification of themselves. The excerpt I am reading can be found in Question 3 of VA blogs (DOD Top 10 questions for veterans base access)Can anyone give us the veterans a straight answer on why wives are not being allowed access to the base exchange and the base commissary.
Thank you for your service – Maximino Hernandez.