Ivy Son Crystal Ortiz Eunhye (Anna) Lee Honors U.S. History Andrew Melendrez

Background Information Andrew Melendrez was born in Casa Blanca, California. He grew up in a poor household and dropped out of Junior High to help pick oranges for his family. He was drafter into the army at the age of 19, and fought generally in Europe.

First Days of Service On Melendrez’s first day of service, everyone received haircuts, new uniforms, and a couple of shots. “Men would pass out before receiving their shots… we didn’t know what to expect.”

Training For training, Andrew Melendrez went to Missouri > Louisianna> Maryland > Virginia > New Jersey > and finally shipped off to England. During training he and his friends pulled many jokes such as : Nailing his friends shoes to the ground Using balloons to scare others and joy riding in abandoned cars

Training (cont.) In boot camp, lights out was at 9 P.M. and every morning they were to be inspected, and is they weren’t ready, they were hit. They had to go jogging often. They had to learn how to put weapons together blindfolded.

War Melendrez was put into the 75 th division and was shipped to Normandy to start combat. Before the big push, there was a big bombing by Germany. -The bombing was ranged from miles wide. He was put into the frontline number one machine gunner.

War (cont.) “I would see my friend, and when I looked back at them, they were gone. A bomb hit them…” After the bombing became worse, they had to pull back. He witnessed “half-bodies” on the ground that were blown off by bombs. After that bombing, Melendrez was the only one left.

War (cont.) Melendrez attached himself to another sergeant of a different squad. There were continuous scattered bombings, and they were forced to attack. 7 days later, they were surrounded by Germans. His commander was captured. For food and water, they had to sneak into a farm house.

War (cont.) For artillery support, they used rockets called “streamers.” One of his fellow soldiers helped him get out of the battle, by killing other people. They ran into the woods, and there was a huge fire. The squad tried to put the fire out so the Germans couldn’t see them.

War (cont.) Got a 2-3 days off for a break. Didn’t change clothes for 2-3 weeks and hadn’t showered for months. Had barely any clothes to stay warm Clothes consisted of: -Long Johns -Pants -Clothing for Gas attacks -Gas masks and pistols grenades in jacket

War (cont.) Melendrez became the squad leader at the age of people are in a squad. During Christmas, they had a small tree and word came that they were moving in the morning to the Battle of the Bulge. Fought in Normandy, there was a lot of snow, and tanks slipped everywhere. Went back to Germany and got wounded in Inden.

War (cont.) “If you got hit, you were left behind. Everyone had to keep moving.” Melendrez laid there for about an hour (shot in the leg.) He was taken to the hospital. Those who survived were shipped to other countries. In France, hospitals were running out of morphine and had to re-sew people back without and anesthesia.

War (cont.) He went back to the front lines, but when he got there, the war had already ended. I took about 3 weeks to get home. When he came back to the squad, he only knew 2 people. Everyone else had been replaced. Some soldiers (like Melendrez) were able to return home, while others were sent to war in Japan. Melendrez spent 3 years in the army and stayed till the war had ended.

After Service After the war, most people got married; Melendrez went back to the fields picking oranges. He had received many honorary rewards such as the: – Silver Star: “the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy.” – Presidential Citation: “a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act.” – Purple Heart: “a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military.” – Bronze Star: “a United States armed forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service

Other Information! Mail took about 2-3 weeks Melendrez’s best friend who was killed wrote to him about how he got to go home for 6 months. Later he received a letter that his friend was wounded, and a week later when he was in Riverside, he found out his friend was dead. “I was more scared than stressed. There would be people walking abound like nothing happened after the bombing.” In the end, Melendrez claimed that service made him into a more better, disciplined person.

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