United States Army personnel of World War II

Pedro_Cano

Pedro Cano (June 19, 1920 – June 24, 1952) was a Mexican-American World War II veteran who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat near Schevenhütte, Germany in December 1944.
Cano was born in La Morita, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He moved to the United States into the small community of Edinburg, Texas, when he was 2 months old. There he served as a farm laborer until he volunteered to serve in the Army during World War II. As a private, he was deployed to the European theater to serve with the 4th Infantry Division, where he engaged in battles both in France and in Germany. He exhibited extraordinary courage and valor in battle and later sustained injuries that left him permanently disabled. He returned to South Texas to join his wife and children and resumed his work as a farm laborer.Private Cano received two Bronze Star medals, a Purple Heart, and a Distinguished Service Cross. On March 18, 2014, the Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.After repeated requests during wartime to become a U.S. citizen and being ignored by his commanding officer due to other pressing matters, Cano finally achieved his longest-lasting ambition, to become an American citizen, in May 1946. He died six years later on June 24, 1952, at the age of 32 in a tragic automobile accident. He left a wife and three children.

Silvestre_S._Herrera

Silvestre Santana Herrera (July 17, 1917 – November 26, 2007) was a private first class of the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Mertzwiller, France, during World War II.
After he mounted a one-man charge on an enemy stronghold which resulted in the solo capture of eight enemy soldiers, his unit was again attacked by a machine gun placement across another minefield. Herrera again that day single-handedly took on the enemy. While crossing the second minefield, he lost one of his legs to a land mine explosion then the other leg to a second explosion. Unable to continue his 1-man advance and despite a severe loss of blood, he single-handedly held the forward position to provide covering fire pinning down the enemy with his M1 Garand. His accurate rifle fire allowed his comrades to overrun the enemy position in a flanking action clear of the minefield.Born in Mexico of Hispanic heritage, Herrera was the only living person authorized to wear both the Medal of Honor and Mexico's Order of Military Merit (First Class) at the time of his death. A legend in the state of Arizona, he was honored by the city of Phoenix officially renaming the portion of 3rd Street that runs from Indian School Road North into the park, "S. Herrera Way".

Jim_Hilgemann

James A. Hilgemann (December 22, 1916 – August 28, 1967) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Fort Wayne General Electrics in 1937–38 and the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons at the start of the 1941–42 season. In 21 career games, he averaged 6.3 points per game. Hilgemann also served in World War II.

Harry_Taylor_(1946–52_pitcher)

James Harry Taylor (May 20, 1919 – November 5, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 90 games, 44 as a starter, in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1946–48) and Boston Red Sox (1950–52). The native of East Glenn, Indiana, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
Taylor's professional career lasted from 1938 through 1955, with five seasons (1941–45) missed due to United States Army service in World War II and another two (1953–54) out of organized baseball in the semipro ranks. He spent the entire 1947 campaign on the Dodgers' big-league roster, winning ten of 15 decisions with 20 starting assignments and two shutouts. It was an eventful season for Brooklyn that saw Jackie Robinson break the baseball color line in the Major Leagues, manager Leo Durocher's season-long suspension for "conduct detrimental to baseball", and the Dodgers win their seventh overall National League pennant.
Taylor was the Dodgers' starting pitcher in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series on October 3 at Ebbets Field. Matched against the New York Yankees' Bill Bevens, Taylor failed to record an out, facing four batters in the first inning and allowing two singles, a base on balls, a fielder's choice (the batter reaching on an error) and an unearned run before being relieved by Hal Gregg, who got out of the inning without further scoring. Bevens, meanwhile, threw 82⁄3 innings of no-hit baseball. But the Yankee hurler allowed ten bases on balls, and his no-hitter and game were ruined by pinch hitter Cookie Lavagetto's ninth-inning double, scoring the decisive two runs and enabling the Dodgers to win, 3–2.
Taylor returned to the minor leagues during the 1948 season, and spent almost all of the following two years at Triple-A. But in September 1950, his contract was purchased by the Red Sox, who were chasing the Yankees and Detroit Tigers in the American League pennant race. After one game in relief, he threw two complete game victories, September 25 against the Philadelphia Athletics (a two-hit shutout) and October 1 against the Yankees. But Boston fell short in the standings, finishing in third place, four games behind the Yankees.
In his 90 MLB games, Taylor worked 3572⁄3 innings pitched, and allowed 344 hits and 201 bases on balls. He recorded 127 strikeouts, 16 complete games and four saves.
He posted a .161 batting average (20-for-124) in his career. He fielded his position well, recording a .990 fielding percentage with only one error in 105 total chances.

Soup_Campbell

Clarence Campbell, better known as Soup Campbell (after Campbell's Soup) (March 7, 1915 – February 16, 2000) was a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1940 through 1941 for the Cleveland Indians. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 188 lb., Campbell batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Sparta, Virginia. In a two-season career, Campbell was a .246 hitter (96-for-432) with three home runs and 37 runs batted in in 139 games, including 10 doubles, four triples, one stolen base, and a .315 on-base percentage.
Campbell began his professional career with the Tarboro Serpents of the Coastal Plain League, playing for them in 1937 and 1938. He then spent the 1939 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, batting .321 in 155 games. He was promoted to the Indians major league roster in 1940 and made his debut on April 21. In 25 games, he had a .226 batting average, serving as a backup outfielder. In 1941, Campbell saw more playing time, and had a .250 batting average in 104 games.He enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, missing the 1942-1945 seasons. He returned to baseball action with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League in 1946 after failing to make the Indians roster out of spring training; he had requested the demotion in order to be an everyday player. He compiled a .298 average and 23 homers in 579 minor league games in a span of five years (1937–39, 1946–47). He later managed for the 1952 Lexington team of the North Carolina State League. Campbell died in Sparta at the age of 84.

Samuel_Wilbert_Tucker

Samuel Wilbert Tucker (June 18, 1913 – October 19, 1990) was an American lawyer and a cooperating attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His civil rights career began as he organized a 1939 sit-in at the then-segregated Alexandria, Virginia public library. A partner in the Richmond, Virginia, firm of Hill, Tucker and Marsh (formerly Hill, Martin and Robinson), Tucker argued and won several civil rights cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, including Green v. County School Board of New Kent County which, according to The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights In America, "did more to advance school integration than any other Supreme Court decision since Brown."