To see Summary of findings of research http://www.slideshare.net/VicenteJurado/strengths-of-the-serrano-case To see paper that I did connected to battle where incident occurred. http://www.slideshare.net/VicenteJurado/objective-able-summary-of-the-battle-for-hill-673-50939994 To see one of the letters that I did http://www.slideshare.net/VicenteJurado/whs-letter-to-president-with-letterhead-without-add-50940089 Anabell Romero article about my work into Korean War Navy Cross Recipient. This article was published on the Wilmington Wire on Nov 11, 2015. This article offers insight into research on Hill 673. I put this article here through her permission since it was my work that was the subject of this article.

1. Wilmington Wire
A Young Man’s Fight to Get Wilmington Veteran the Medal of Honor
TOPICS:korean warmedal of honorveterans daywilmington veterans
Robert Serrano with Janice Hahn (Photo provided by Wilmington Historical Society)
Posted By: Anabell Romero November 12, 2015
Looking through dusty files at the Wilmington Historical Society became part of 25-year-old
Vicente Jurado Jr’s life.
For more than two years Jurado has dedicated almost 24/7 of his time researching the life of
Korean War Veteran, Roberto Serrano from Wilmington.
A project that began as a profile on Wilmington veterans later developed into an investigative
research project on Serrano’s heroism during a 1951 battle in Korea.

2. “I came upon Mr. Serrano’s picture in [Olivia Cueva Fernandez’s] Wilmington book after I had a
meeting with her in late May and got involved in the Wilmington Historical Society,” said
Jurado.
Jurado noticed Serrano in a photo where he was awarded for his actions during the war, which is
when his veteran profile project took a sudden turn.
25-year-old Vicente Jurado Jr. at the Wilmington Historical Society
He discovered something odd but very exciting during his research. Serrano could possibly be a
candidate to receive the nation’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
“When I learned more about the incident I saw there was more to all this and continued to study
the issue,” explained Jurado.
If Jurado’s research was accurate this meant that Serrano could potentially become the only
second Navy Cross recipient to have his award upgraded by the Department of the Navy to a
Medal of Honor.

3. The Battle of Hill 673
It was September 12 of 1951 during the Korean War. A war between North and South Korea.
The United States led a United Nations force that fought for the South. China and the Soviet
Union fought for the North.
The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II and from the global
tensions of the Cold War that developed immediately afterwards. It was essentially a war against
communism.
Serrano was a 21-year-old navy corpsman for the Navy Cross during the war. A corpsman is a
U.S. Navy medical specialist who serves with the Navy and the Marine Corp. but is also trained
for battle.
Serrano was moving with the assault platoon during an attack from the opponents. They were on
a hill protected by barbed wire, concealed bunkers, landmines and other obstacles. The location
of the hill was in Kanmubong Ridge in an area known as the Punchbowl.
It was nearly impossible to come out of the hill alive. In an archived document of a sample
citation by the Navy Cross this is what the incident was described as:
“Serrano was fearlessly dashing through the heavy enemy fire to reach a wounded Marine,
he accidently tripped the wire of a hidden anti-personnel mine. Hearing the snap of the fuse
primer and realizing that his wounded comrade lay helpless beside the deadly explosive, he
courageously and with complete disregard for his own personal safety threw himself on the
man wounded in the back and legs by fragments and was blown several feet by the
concussion, he crawled back to his comrade and administered first aid.”
Serrano did absorb the shock of the explosion giving him a concussion and severely wounding
his leg and back, but he was alive and so was his comrade who would have likely died.
“The first instinct is to protect yourself. But [Serrano’s] first instinct was to protect the person he
was helping…to me that is extraordinary,” said Wilmington veteran Richard Rivas. “I don’t
know if I would have done that.”
Rivas was a friend of Serrano and a Korean War veteran. Both enlisted when they were
teenagers but met in Wilmington after returning from war.
Serrano was recognized for his heroic acts but it wasn’t the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the
Purple Heart in the name of the President and a Navy Cross by the Navy. Both prestigious
awards but not the recognition both Jurado and Rivas believe he deserved.

4. The Untold Story
Serrano passed away at the age of 76 in 2007 after fighting brain cancer.
No one, including his three sons, knew what had happened to him during war.
“My dad was really humble and he really didn’t tell us anything,” said Serrano’s middle son,
Ron Serrano. “I really didn’t know what went on until later on in my life.”
It’s not uncommon for veterans to return from war without wanting to share their experiences.
“They saw friends they knew or grew up with get killed in combat in very horrible ways,” said
54-year-old Veteran Martin John Chacon, who works at the Wilmington VFW. “They just want
to forget about it and go on.”
Jurado was suddenly unveiling a story never told, but it was not easy.
His quiet demeanor, several rejections and confusing archival material to work with were not
reasons to stop him from helping a Wilmington veteran who was too modest to speak of his
heroic act when he was alive.
Jurado found inconsistencies when it came to documents that were used in the original award
process that found Serrano’s actions worthy of the Navy Cross and could have affected an award
of a Medal Of Honor. He was turned down by several government officials, and many times felt
like giving up.
“Even though there were some, who did not believe I would get this far I was just focused on
what I could do and not what others might think of what I was doing,” said Jurado.
For Serrano to be considered for the Medal of Honor all witness statements are needed but
Jurado only found two out of the three from documents acquired from the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis Missouri.
A new investigation would need to be carried out based on documents provided by Jurado to
Congresswoman Hahn’s office. These documents would have to be sent to the Department of the
Navy and eventually to the President’s desk for approval.
Another alternative would be for house resolution bill calling for an upgrade to the Medal of
Honor introduced to Congress. The bill would have to be sent to the senate and then the Senate
Armed Service Committee and wait for the President to approve as part of a National Defense
Authorization Act.
Through Jurado’s intense research he has gathered enough documents like medical history
reports, several letters of support from government officials like Congresswoman Janice Hahn
and community groups.

5. Jurado’s work has become invaluable for Serrano’s family and Wilmington veterans.
He opened a treasure box of history revealing information about a man that otherwise would
have never been told.
“It is personally important to me because Mr. Serrano was a part of this community,” said
Jurado. “I was able to give some answers about his past.”
For Jurado the findings of his research are priceless. He’s determined to pursue this project until
Serrano receives the recognition he deserves.
“Vicente’s efforts have been outstanding,” said Chacon. “For a young man to take this kind of
task to where it is now is very respectful and an honor for [veterans].1
1.)Anabell Romero, A Young Man’s Fight to Get Wilmington Veteran the Medal of Honor
Wilmington Wire, Nov12, 2015, http://www.wilmingtonwire.com/?p=357