21. A Shortchanged Hero
Marcelino Serna’s exploits – not to mention moral courage in refusing to execute prisoners – were those of a true hero. He should have been awarded a Medal of Honor, but in that era’s rampant racism, it was not to be. Indeed, no minorities whatsoever were awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I. The powers that be decided that was too prestigious an award to bestow on a Mexican, let alone an illegal Mexican immigrant. Serna’s commanding officer told him that he would never get the Medal of Honor, claiming that it was never awarded to privates. And Serna could never rise higher than private, because he spoke almost no English.
He was instead awarded America’s second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross, in 1919. He would not have been awarded even that, were it not for the personal intervention of and insistence by the American Expeditionary Force’s commander, General Pershing, that Serna deserved a medal. Serna also received a French Medaille Militaire, as well as a Croix de Guerre With 2 Palms, and an Italian Croce al Merito di Guerra, among other awards from America’s allies.