Speaker 1: Pushkin. A young couple waited behind a long velvet curtain.
Speaker 1: They were on a Hollywood sound stage. On the other
Speaker 1: side of the curtain were TV cameras and a live
Speaker 1: studio audience, laughing and talking while they waited for the
Speaker 1: couple to appear. It was April twenty fourth, nineteen fifty two.
Speaker 1: They were on the set of a TV game show
Speaker 1: called You Bet Your Life. The announcer, George Finnamon cleared
Speaker 1: his throat, and as he spoke, the couple came out
Speaker 1: from behind the curtain into the bright stage lights.
Speaker 2: We have an engaged couple for you now, Groucho, and
Speaker 2: they're very special guests.
Speaker 3: So let's meet them.
Speaker 2: Miss Rose Aranda and Sergeant Joseph Rodriguez. Meet Graucho Marx.
Speaker 1: That's right, Graucho Marx of the Marx Brothers. You know
Speaker 1: who I'm talking about with those big glasses, thick eyebrows
Speaker 1: and mustache. Oh and of course the cigar. He was
Speaker 1: the host of the show.
Speaker 2: Pretty cute couple, right.
Speaker 1: The young couple were both dressed up. He wore an
Speaker 1: army uniform and she wore a skirt suit. He was
Speaker 1: tall and skinny, with dark hair and a giant smile.
Speaker 1: She was tiny and beautiful with big brown eyes. They
Speaker 1: were in their early twenties. He rested his hand in
Speaker 1: the small of her back, kind of like he was
Speaker 1: protecting her.
Speaker 2: You two a special guest. Why is that? Is it
Speaker 2: because you're an army sergeant?
Speaker 4: No, I don't believe.
Speaker 2: So there's nothing special about an army sergeant unless you
Speaker 2: happened to be a private. Jeosh Fannaman, come in in.
Speaker 2: You told me there was something special about this couple.
Speaker 3: What is it?
Speaker 2: Obviously they're not going to tell me.
Speaker 5: Well, GRATCHA.
Speaker 3: Sergeant Rodriguez has been awarded the nation's highest military decoration,
Speaker 3: the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Speaker 1: I'm j R. Martinez and this is Medal of Honor
Speaker 1: Stories of Courage. The Medal of Honor is the highest
Speaker 1: military decoration in the United States. It's awarded for gallantry
Speaker 1: and bravery and combat at the risk of life, above
Speaker 1: and beyond the call of duty. Each candidate must be
Speaker 1: approved all the way up the chain of command, from
Speaker 1: the supervisory officer in the field to the White House.
Speaker 1: This show was about those heroes, what they did, what
Speaker 1: it meant, and what their stories tell us about the
Speaker 1: nature of courage and sacrifice. In this episode, we're gonna
Speaker 1: be Joseph Rodriguez, and I gotta tell you, I really
Speaker 1: connect with this story, and not because Joe and I
Speaker 1: were both Army vets who somehow found themselves on TV.
Speaker 1: It's because so many elements of Joe's life are familiar
Speaker 1: to me. Growing up in a Hispanic household, being a
Speaker 1: first generation US citizen, I know that dance very well,
Speaker 1: loving my family's culture, but seeing myself as fully and
Speaker 1: truly American, with patriotism so strong that we both volunteered
Speaker 1: to serve our country in the military. Joe's actions on
Speaker 1: the battlefield in Korea pushed him into the spotlight. His
Speaker 1: one man's stand was incredible and I can't wait to
Speaker 1: tell you about it. But it's not what defined his life.
Speaker 1: What defined him was his dedication to the country he
Speaker 1: loved and his love for rogues. Joe Rodriguez joined the
Speaker 1: Army in nineteen fifty when he was twenty one years old.
Speaker 1: He was a private first class in the seventh Infantry Division.
Speaker 1: In less than a year, he was headed into combat
Speaker 1: with no idea what was waiting for him.
Speaker 6: Well, I knew there was a war going on in
Speaker 6: a place called Korea, which I didn't know where it
Speaker 6: was at. And when they said it's your turn, I figured, well,
Speaker 6: a couple of years and we can handle that.
Speaker 1: Then Joe got to the front and he was totally overwhelmed.
Speaker 6: Oh gosh, I tell you, as a buck private up
Speaker 6: in the combat zone, you don't know where you're at.
Speaker 6: The sergeant tells you go that way, and you go
Speaker 6: that way. You just do what you're told.
Speaker 1: But Joe had something that gave him hope. His helmet
Speaker 1: was lined with letters from a young woman named Rose.
Speaker 1: The two had met when Rose was a senior in
Speaker 1: high school and Joe was at a community college near
Speaker 1: his home in San Bernardino, California. They both went to
Speaker 1: a mixer hosted by the Why. Years later, Rose told
Speaker 1: their son Charles about it during the recording he made
Speaker 1: at home.
Speaker 3: We were there on the glus and stopped right in
Speaker 3: front of the.
Speaker 6: Y and the guys were waiting there to be picked up,
Speaker 6: and that's where I spotted your father. We didn't have
Speaker 6: a chance.
Speaker 1: Joe sure didn't stand a chance. He took one look
Speaker 1: at Rose and made a beeline to her seat on
Speaker 1: the bus. On their first date, Rose was a little anxious.
Speaker 5: On the way back. We stopped at a coffee shop
Speaker 5: and we ordered some coffee, and I poured Bob ten
Speaker 5: spoons of sugar in my coffee, and a sooner as
Speaker 5: I just kept pouring it on.
Speaker 1: As Rose got to know Joe, she liked him even more.
Speaker 1: For one thing, he was determined to make a better
Speaker 1: life for himself. Both of his parents had immigrated from
Speaker 1: Central Mexico. His mother unfortunately passed away when Joe was
Speaker 1: only two. His dad had a business with several other
Speaker 1: workers maintaining lawns and vineyards, and Joe's dad believed that
Speaker 1: there was no such thing as a job that's too
Speaker 1: small or too hard. Every kind of work brought dignity.
Speaker 1: I know that hard work and immigrant spirits so well.
Speaker 1: I witnessed that growing up. That's a lot of where
Speaker 1: our pride comes from. The Rodriguez household was big and chaotic.
Speaker 1: Joe's dad eventually remarried, and all together there were fifteen kids,
Speaker 1: twelve girls and three boys. So Joe and his little
Speaker 1: brother Ray live with their older sister, Josie. Rose loved
Speaker 1: Joe's ambition. She was the same way he was going
Speaker 1: to college, which was pretty rare in the Latino community
Speaker 1: back then. It was tough to afford, but Joe was
Speaker 1: determined to make it work. And when Joe got called
Speaker 1: to Korea, he told her she didn't have to wait
Speaker 1: for him, but she did. She sent him letter after letter.
Speaker 1: He had those to give him strength, and he had
Speaker 1: his father's voice in his head.
Speaker 6: That is from the old country, Mexico. You know that
Speaker 6: macho machismo stuff.
Speaker 1: He had it.
Speaker 6: He raised me up, saying, son, you be a man.
Speaker 6: You be a man, and you don't be afraid to
Speaker 6: die of it if it takes it. Of course, Dad
Speaker 6: wasn't up in the front lines being shot at when
Speaker 6: he told me.
Speaker 1: That Korea had been divided after World War Two. The
Speaker 1: North was a communist country supported by the USSR. The
Speaker 1: South was supported by the United Nations. But then North
Speaker 1: Korea invaded South Korea. So you and troops stepped in,
Speaker 1: pushing them back above the thirty eighth parallel. But the
Speaker 1: UN forces didn't stop there. They kept going into North Korea,
Speaker 1: which was a bad idea. Pretty soon the North Korean
Speaker 1: military was joined by Chinese troops, and they seemed almost unbeatable.
Speaker 1: They forced their way back into South Korea.
Speaker 3: The Chinese Communist defnsive had pushed the United Nations forces
Speaker 3: back to below the thirty eighth parallel, and the advance
Speaker 3: to recover lost ground was slow and painful work. During
Speaker 3: the first few months of nineteen fifty one, the soldiers
Speaker 3: of the seventh Division bought several successful engagements with the enemy,
Speaker 3: each time winning a little more in real estate, pushing
Speaker 3: the United Nations lines steadily.
Speaker 1: Now it was a nasty struggle. Each mile they took
Speaker 1: was paid for in blood. On May twentieth, Joe's Division,
Speaker 1: the seventh was ordered to advance across a series of ridges.
Speaker 1: They were all held by the enemy. The gis needed
Speaker 1: to retake that lost ground, and the faster they did it,
Speaker 1: the less time the Chinese soldiers would have to react.
Speaker 1: It was a leap frogging attack that went from hill
Speaker 1: to hill. First one company would take a ridge, then
Speaker 1: the next would move up, and on the early morning
Speaker 1: of May twenty first, Joe's company was waiting for their turn.
Speaker 6: I remember that morning. It was a beautiful day, a
Speaker 6: rare beautiful day.
Speaker 1: The focus was one small peak that dominated the ridge.
Speaker 1: It was entrenched with Chinese forces who were using it
Speaker 1: as a launching spot for mortar shells. Those shells were
Speaker 1: hitting American troops. They had to be stopped. The first
Speaker 1: group of gis headed for the ridge line. The enemy
Speaker 1: waited until they were within one hundred yards of the top,
Speaker 1: and then they opened fire. The soldiers were hit hard.
Speaker 1: They couldn't make it.
Speaker 6: The casualties are so great. They pulled them back and
Speaker 6: then they sent us up.
Speaker 1: It was time for Joe's company to go forward into
Speaker 1: that wall of gunfire.
Speaker 6: My particular squad, which is composed of about eight or
Speaker 6: ten men, led the attack, and it wasn't nice.
Speaker 1: It wasn't nice, well that's an understatement. It was terrible.
Speaker 1: Automatic weapons fire was pouring down on them. And Joe's
Speaker 1: squad made it to about sixty yards from the top
Speaker 1: of the ridge, but then they got stuck.
Speaker 6: We got pinned down, just like our predecessors, and we
Speaker 6: couldn't go forward, couldn't go backwards sideways, it would just
Speaker 6: pinned down.
Speaker 1: The company commander had told the men they needed to
Speaker 1: take that ridge no matter what, but every time anybody
Speaker 1: raised their head he got shot at. So they just
Speaker 1: duck lower and lower. Nobody moved Obviously, nobody wanted to die,
Speaker 1: but Joe was thinking about something else. He knew the
Speaker 1: guys in this unit. He was protective of them.
Speaker 6: I had been with the men that were pinned down
Speaker 6: for a while. There's a closeness that has developed, especially
Speaker 6: in combat. There's a definite bond that has created when
Speaker 6: you're in a situation that you don't know what's going
Speaker 6: to happen.
Speaker 1: And then the enemy started to roll grenades down the
Speaker 1: hill towards Joe's friends. Joe Rodriguez was dug in with
Speaker 1: his squad in the hills of Korea, hiding from enemy
Speaker 1: fire and watching as grenades went spinning towards his unit.
Speaker 6: We were also helpless, and we couldn't move. I guess
Speaker 6: I just got angry. I got very angry.
Speaker 1: He wasn't about to sit there and watch his buddies
Speaker 1: get packed off or get killed himself, so he grabbed
Speaker 1: a handful of grenades and started running up the hill.
Speaker 6: I felt something had to be done. I didn't even
Speaker 6: think about it.
Speaker 1: It was about sixty yards to the top. The ridge
Speaker 1: line was thick with trees. It was impossible to know
Speaker 1: exactly what was waiting for him.
Speaker 6: They held the dominating terrain the top of the hill.
Speaker 6: I knew they were up there, but where I didn't know.
Speaker 6: I really couldn't see it. All I knew is it
Speaker 6: was up on top that the problem was.
Speaker 1: He ran towards the sound of gunfire. It was the
Speaker 1: only way he could tell where the Chinese soldiers were.
Speaker 1: The enemy was tucked into foxholes. He spotted the first
Speaker 1: one and lobbed grenades into it.
Speaker 6: During basic training, they taught us how to throw a grenade,
Speaker 6: but it was automatic. I didn't think about basic training.
Speaker 6: I just knew you pull that pin and you release
Speaker 6: that handle, and you better get rid of it. So
Speaker 6: I kept doing it.
Speaker 1: Then he ran around the left flank. He sprinted towards
Speaker 1: another fox hole, and there was a soldier with an
Speaker 1: automatic weapon in there, shooting at the Americans down below.
Speaker 1: Joe threw grenades into the nest and the gun fell silent.
Speaker 6: I ran out of grenades, so I ran back to
Speaker 6: where the men were still pinned down, and I collected
Speaker 6: a few more grenades and went back up.
Speaker 1: He ran up the slope, bullets kicking up dirt all
Speaker 1: around him. He found another fox hole and threw grenades
Speaker 1: in one of them. Bounced off of a tree and
Speaker 1: landed about two feet from Joe. As he raced away
Speaker 1: from the explosion, he stumbled and cut his face with
Speaker 1: another grenade he was carrying. Just then he spotted a
Speaker 1: fourth foxhole. He pulled back his arm and threw. Now
Speaker 1: he was out of grenades, and the enemy fire kept coming.
Speaker 6: They had some pillboxes bunkers, and I knew there were
Speaker 6: men and they're shooting at us. Yet the grenades didn't
Speaker 6: get him.
Speaker 1: So he ran back down the hill a second time.
Speaker 1: By this next trip up, he was worn out. He
Speaker 1: later said, quote, I'm no track man, you know. But
Speaker 1: he sprinted up the slope one more time and he
Speaker 1: found that final machine gun nest and he knocked it out.
Speaker 6: I finished throwing those grenades, firing stopped.
Speaker 1: He had ended the battle. His com we're safe. In all,
Speaker 1: Joe was responsible for killing fifteen Chinese soldiers in the
Speaker 1: space of just a few minutes. He single handily broke
Speaker 1: the enemy defense. But when Joe looked back on his actions,
Speaker 1: he didn't claim to be superhuman or even super brave.
Speaker 6: Some people say they're not afraid. You're afraid. You just
Speaker 6: don't admit it. And you pray down deep inside of yourself.
Speaker 6: You pray. You don't know what's going to happen, you
Speaker 6: don't know what's going to be you next. And believe me,
Speaker 6: I prayed.
Speaker 1: But he was still willing to take that risk, to
Speaker 1: do the terrible job ahead of him. It was in
Speaker 1: his DNA. Remember what his dad said, No job too
Speaker 1: small or too hard. Joe's luck ran out about a
Speaker 1: week later when he was shot in the hand. He
Speaker 1: was sent to a high hospital in Japan and he
Speaker 1: stayed there for three months. But what have set him
Speaker 1: the most wasn't the pain. It was something else, something
Speaker 1: to do with Rose. As he told his son years later,
Speaker 1: when I got.
Speaker 6: Wounded, I lost my helmet, and of course all her
Speaker 6: letters were gone, and I think that was one of
Speaker 6: the biggest losses that I felt. I cherished him.
Speaker 1: When he recovered, Joe asked to be sent back to
Speaker 1: the front lines, but he was told that he could
Speaker 1: train with his men, but not fight with them. He
Speaker 1: was frustrated, heartbroken. They were a unit, they should stay together,
Speaker 1: and he was ready to fight. So he pushed back
Speaker 1: and he was told, you've been recommended for some medal,
Speaker 1: no details, just that. Then the regimental commander called him
Speaker 1: in and said, you're going back to the United States,
Speaker 1: and he was officially notified that some medal was actually
Speaker 1: the medal, the Medal of Honor. A general's plane had
Speaker 1: to go back to the US for maintenance, and Joe
Speaker 1: hitched a ride on it back to California. His combat
Speaker 1: duty in Korea was over after just eight months, but
Speaker 1: now he had a new mission. He told his son
Speaker 1: about it years later.
Speaker 4: I got back to the States about November nineteen fifty one,
Speaker 4: and I guess one of the most important things I
Speaker 4: had to do was to see your mother. And it
Speaker 4: was a Sunday. We went over to a small park
Speaker 4: and walked to WAYN. I was in Tokyo before my
Speaker 4: return to the United States. I had gone to the
Speaker 4: PX and all my earnings went into the ring and
Speaker 4: engagement N and I had it in my pocket while
Speaker 4: we were there in the park, and I took the
Speaker 4: little box out and asked her if she would marry
Speaker 4: me to say yes. I don't think I realized the
Speaker 4: impact of what I've just done, but I knew that
Speaker 4: I wanted to have her as my bride, because not
Speaker 4: only did she wait for me, but I knew her,
Speaker 4: I knew her family, and she is a soft spoken,
Speaker 4: very attractive charman. And all of the good word that
Speaker 4: you can put together.
Speaker 1: All of the good words that you can put together.
Speaker 1: I love that. And rose Now his fiance went with
Speaker 1: him to DC for his Medal of Honor ceremony. His
Speaker 1: sister Josie went to and so did his brother Ray,
Speaker 1: who was also serving his country as a marine. At
Speaker 1: the ceremony on January twenty ninth, nineteen fifty two, he
Speaker 1: received the medal along with another Army sergeant. During President
Speaker 1: Truman's eight years in office, he gave out a lot
Speaker 1: of medals, but he described these two citations as quote
Speaker 1: among the most remarkable that I have ever read. And
Speaker 1: then Truman said that he wished that more Americans would
Speaker 1: display that same fighting spirit, not just on the battlefield,
Speaker 1: but in civic life to make this country better. He said, quote,
Speaker 1: I hope that their example will cause more people to
Speaker 1: take responsibility and to fight for right, as these two
Speaker 1: young men fought for liberty and the welfare of the world.
Speaker 1: Joe was blown away by all of it.
Speaker 6: You know, even at the time of the presentation of
Speaker 6: the award, I didn't fully appreciate what was going on.
Speaker 6: I knew it was significant because the President, I mean,
Speaker 6: ge whiz, but I had no idea it would have
Speaker 6: such an impact on our lives.
Speaker 1: But Joe took Truman's words to heart. Now that he
Speaker 1: was back in America, he would keep working to make
Speaker 1: it better. After he received the Medal of Honor, Joe
Speaker 1: Rodriguez continued to serve, this time off the battlefield. He
Speaker 1: was sent around the country to promote the sale of
Speaker 1: government savings minds. He went on a multi week blood
Speaker 1: drive with the famous comedian Eddie Canter, and of course
Speaker 1: he and Rose appeared on You Bet Your Life.
Speaker 3: Joe.
Speaker 2: That's the most amazing thing I ever heard of him.
Speaker 2: There's just one thing I'd like to know. When you
Speaker 2: were running through all that, Lad, what were you thinking about?
Speaker 4: Well, I wasn't thinking. I was just mad.
Speaker 1: I guess you wiped.
Speaker 2: Out a whole army just because you got mad. Joe,
Speaker 2: I said anything tonight to hear that you read. I
Speaker 2: said anything that you reasoned. I was just being facetious. Oh,
Speaker 2: I'm sure, glad you're I'm not outside and Rose, take
Speaker 2: good care of this fellow. And my advice is don't
Speaker 2: have to make him mad white BYuT Los Angeles.
Speaker 1: Rose did take great care of Joe. They were married
Speaker 1: in November of nineteen fifty two. The city of San
Speaker 1: Bernardino raised money for a home for them, and Joe
Speaker 1: bought a plot of ground and helped design the house himself.
Speaker 1: Joe would stay in the army for thirty years. He
Speaker 1: joined the Army Corps of Engineers, which he juggled with
Speaker 1: speaking engagements and appearances. He was the rare officer who
Speaker 1: could speak fluent Spanish, so he was assigned to roles
Speaker 1: in Bolivia, Arguentina, Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal. Rose
Speaker 1: was the star of the Officers Club, adapting easily to
Speaker 1: any new situation. Joe and Rose had three kids, and
Speaker 1: Joe encouraged them to become bilingual just like he was,
Speaker 1: and every now and then Joe's protective side came out
Speaker 1: when Joe had to travel. Their older son, Charles, remembers
Speaker 1: his dad telling him, you take great care of your
Speaker 1: mother and brother and sister, and don't let any guys
Speaker 1: come knocking at the door. Charles followed his dad into
Speaker 1: the army and eventually became a major general. After Joe retired,
Speaker 1: he spent time with his eleven grandkids and playing golf.
Speaker 1: He claimed to be the only Medal of Honor recipient
Speaker 1: with four holes in one and you know what, I
Speaker 1: believe it. He remained devoted to Rose until the day
Speaker 1: he passed in two thousand and five. He was seventy
Speaker 1: six years old. Joe's Hispanic culture had given him a
Speaker 1: set of gifts, his work ethic, his language skills, and
Speaker 1: he used those gifts to serve his country. But he
Speaker 1: never saw himself as anything other than fully American. That
Speaker 1: was true when he was at the bottom of that
Speaker 1: ridge in Korea.
Speaker 6: To me and to most of the men in combat,
Speaker 6: there is no race difference, there is no religion difference.
Speaker 6: We're all in there because man, we're being shot at.
Speaker 6: And if anything, I learned, when you're in a pinch
Speaker 6: with other people, you're all in it together.
Speaker 1: Yeah. How was my experience too. When you're a squad,
Speaker 1: you're a squad, all equal. It's one of the beautiful
Speaker 1: things the military does. It erases those differences. And as
Speaker 1: Joe traveled the country meeting with other vets, he saw
Speaker 1: that same thing in them.
Speaker 6: The country is blessed by having veterans organizations, not only
Speaker 6: integrated veterans organizations, but you've got Hispanic veterans organizations, and
Speaker 6: I belong to at least two of them. And I'll
Speaker 6: tell you you get those reunions. Those guys are proud
Speaker 6: that they are Americans. They're proud their Hispanics. First of all,
Speaker 6: they're proud that they are American, and they want everybody
Speaker 6: to know they are as much American as anybody.
Speaker 1: Else, as much American as anybody else. I think it's
Speaker 1: important to hear it, and it's important to let it
Speaker 1: sink in. It's true, no matter where your family originally
Speaker 1: came from or how long ago, what makes us American
Speaker 1: is how we work to make this country the best
Speaker 1: it can be. Joe not only understood.
Speaker 6: That he lived in We're called Hispanic Americans because of
Speaker 6: our heritage. And I'm proud of my heritage. And that's
Speaker 6: something else I tell the youngsters. I tell him, be
Speaker 6: proud of your heritage. Whether you're Irish, American, Mexican, American, Asian, American,
Speaker 6: you be proud of your heritage. But remember, most of all,
Speaker 6: you're America. You are America.
Speaker 1: Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage is written by Meredith
Speaker 1: Rollins and produced by Meredith Rollins and Ryan Schweiker. Our
Speaker 1: editor is Lydia Jean Kott. Sound designed by Jay Gorsky.
Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Constanza Gallardo. Fact checking by Arthur Gomperts.
Speaker 1: Original music by Eric Phillips. Special thanks to the Congressional
Speaker 1: Medal of Honor Society, and an extra special thanks to
Speaker 1: Major General Retired Charles Rodriguez, Joe's son, who provided tapes
Speaker 1: of his parents telling theirs stories. If you want to
Speaker 1: learn more about this story, take a look at our
Speaker 1: show notes, where we have some of the resources we
Speaker 1: use to put this episode together. We also want to
Speaker 1: hear from you. Send us your personal story of courage
Speaker 1: or highlight someone else's bravery. Email us at Medal of
Speaker 1: Honor at Pushkin dot Fm. You might hear your stories
Speaker 1: on future episodes of Metal of Honor, or see them
Speaker 1: on our social channels at Pushkin Pods. I'm your host, JR.
Speaker 1: Martinez