Patriot of the Week: SFC Jorge Otero Barreto, the Most Decorated Soldier of Vietnam

This week's Patriot is Sergeant First Class Jorge Otero Barreto - the most decorated soldier of the Vietnam War, and a man his hometown still calls "the Puerto Rican Rambo."

Born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Otero Barreto left medical school to enlist in the Army in 1959. He went on to serve five tours in Vietnam and complete more than 200 combat and aerial missions - a level of repeated, voluntary exposure to combat that few American soldiers have ever matched.

On May 1, 1968, during Operation Carentan II near Hue, his platoon came under a fierce North Vietnamese assault. Otero Barreto personally neutralized a fortified machine gun position and led his squad in clearing three more enemy bunkers, saving the lives of the men under his command. It was one of dozens of actions that would eventually earn him 38 military decorations, including two Silver Stars and five Bronze Star Medals with Valor.

Otero Barreto passed away in 2024. This year, Congress is finally considering whether to give him the recognition many veterans say was long overdue: Rep. Pablo Jose Hernandez of Puerto Rico has introduced a bill posthumously nominating Otero Barreto for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor in combat.

Whatever the outcome in Washington, ForAmerica is happy to give him something every hero deserves right now: a thank you, and a reminder that his name and his sacrifice haven't been forgotten.

Source: Stars and Stripes and Vietnam Veterans of America.