Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Eurípides Rubio (March 1, 1938 – November 8, 1966) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer and one of nine

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...

who were

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

ly awarded the

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' highest military decoration for valor, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

, for actions on November 8, 1966, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Rubio was a member of the

, Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment (Black Lions), 1st Infantry Division, Republic of Vietnam.

Early years

Rubio was born in the city of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, in the southern region of Puerto Rico. There, he received his primary and secondary education. Rubio was a member of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

Ponce High School The Ponce High School is public educational institution in Ponce, Puerto Rico, offering grades nine through twelve. The school's main building is a historic structure located on Cristina Street, in the Ponce Historic Zone. From its beginning t ...

Cadet Squadron, Chapter 52012/PR012, Puerto Rico Wing, from 1952 to 1956. After high school, Rubio enrolled at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

and the program

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

, Rubio joined the Army as a commissioned second lieutenant officer in the Military Police Corps at

Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico United States Army Garrison Fort Buchanan, is a United States Army installation in Puerto Rico. It is located in the metropolitan area of the capital, San Juan. History Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish Empire from the time of Christopher Col ...

.Service Profile
/ref>

Action in Vietnam

On November 8, 1966, during Operation Attleboro in Tay Ninh Province,

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, Captain Rubio's company came under attack from the

North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

; leaving the safety of his post, Rubio received two serious wounds as he braved the intense enemy fire to distribute

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

, re-establish positions and render aid to the wounded. Despite his pain, he assumed command when a rifle company commander was medically evacuated. He was then wounded a third time as he tried to move amongst his men to encourage them to fight with renewed effort. While aiding the evacuation of wounded personnel, he noted that a US smoke grenade, which was intended to mark the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

's position for an

air strike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and Unmanned combat aerial ...

, had fallen dangerously close to friendly lines. He ran to move the grenade but was immediately struck to his knees by enemy fire. Despite his wounds, Rubio managed to collect the grenade and again run through enemy fire to within 20 m of the enemy position to throw the by-then already smoking grenade into the enemy before he fell for the final time. Using the now-repositioned grenade as a marker, friendly air strikes were directed to destroy the hostile positions. Rubio's singularly heroic act turned the tide of the battle, and for his extraordinary leadership and valor, he

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

received the

in 1968. His remains were buried in

Puerto Rico National Cemetery Puerto Rico National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayamón, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses of land, and at the end of 2005, had 44,722 interments. Until 2021, it ...

in the city of

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain, it is bounded by Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Guaynabo to the east, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, Toa A ...

Medal of Honor citation

Military decorations awarded

Among the military decorations which Capt. Rubio earned were the following: Foreign unit decorations * Fourragère cord

Honors

The United States Army Reserve Center located at the Hato Rey sector of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

was named posthumously named Capt. Eurípides Rubio United States Army Reserve Center. The

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

Outpatient Clinic in Ponce was named in memory of Captain Eurípides Rubio. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Post 142 in San Juan was named after Capt. Euripides Rubio. Rubio's name is inscribed in "El Monumento de la Recordación" (Monument of Remembrance), dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in San Juan. His name is inscribed on the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granit ...

("The Wall") on Panel 12E, Row 044. On November 11, 2008, the Government of Puerto Rico unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda an oil portrait of Captain Euripedes Rubio. In 2017 Eurípides Rubio was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio, Euripides 1938 births 1966 deaths Burials at Puerto Rico National Cemetery Military personnel from Ponce Ponce High School alumni Puerto Rican Army personnel United States Army officers Puerto Rican recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People of the Civil Air Patrol Puerto Rican military officers Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army personnel killed in the Vietnam War University of Puerto Rico alumni