WWII Medal of Honor goes on display

The Oklahoma History Center will display the Medal of Honor awarded to Pfc. Manuel Perez Jr., a World War II soldier, beginning Wednesday. The medal will be exhibited in the military section of the KerrMcGee Gallery on the third floor of the History Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive. Perez was presented this award posthumously for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty on 13 February, 1945.” He was the lead scout for Company A, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division serving in Luzon, Philippine Islands. His company was approaching enemy-held Fort McKinley and had destroyed 11 of 12 pillboxes in a strongly defended sector of the island. Perez knew that the last emplacement must be destroyed to take control of the area. However, the pillbox was heavily manned and armed with two twin-mount, .50-caliber machine guns. Single-handedly, he killed 18 of the enemy and neutralized the position. Perez was killed by a sniper on March 14, 1945, while still fighting on Luzon in the Philippines. In 1946, on George Washington's birthday, his Medal of Honor was presented to his father on the International Bridge between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Perez is buried in Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma History Center is a designated Blue Star Museum, offering free admission to all veterans, active duty military and their dependents. Regular admission is $7 for adults, $5 for senior adults and $4 for students.