Mike C. Pena


Mike Castaneda Pena was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Tabu-dong.

Biographical details

Pena was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on November 6, 1924, into a Mexican American family. He joined the U. S. Army as an infantryman in 1941 when he was 16 years old. He served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Medal of Honor

The bestowal of the Medal recognized Pena's actions on the evening of Sept. 4, 1950, near Waegwan, Korea during the Battle of Tabu-dong, when his unit was fiercely attacked. During the course of the counter-attack, Pena realized that their ammunition was running out, and ordered his unit to retreat. Pena then manned a machine-gun to cover their withdrawal and single-handedly held back the enemy until morning when his position was overrun and he was killed.
Pena received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 2014.
The award came through the Defense Authorization Act which called for a review of Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor.

Honors and awards

In addition to receiving the Medal of Honor, Pena received :