Early Life and Military Service Born on October 25, 1946, in Edinburg, Texas, Erevia enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 1968. He served as a radio-telephone operator (RTO) with Company C, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during the Vietnam War.
Medal of Honor Actions His Medal of Honor citation details his extraordinary heroism on May 21, 1969, near Tam Ky, Republic of Vietnam. During a search and destroy mission, his platoon came under intense fire from a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) bunker complex. After his platoon leader and several other soldiers were wounded, Erevia, then a Specialist Fourth Class (SP4), voluntarily left his position. He single-handedly assaulted four enemy bunkers. Armed with a M16 rifle and hand grenades, he systematically neutralized the positions, killing four enemy soldiers and wounding several others, effectively silencing the enemy fire. His actions allowed his platoon to regroup, evacuate the wounded, and eventually overwhelm the remaining enemy forces. For these valorous deeds, he was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Later Recognition and Death In 2002, Congress mandated a review of the cases of Asian, Native American, African American, and Hispanic American veterans who had received the Distinguished Service Cross during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to determine if any had been unfairly denied the Medal of Honor due to racial or ethnic prejudice. As a result of this review, Santiago J. Erevia's Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony on March 18, 2014.
Santiago J. Erevia died on March 22, 2016, in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 69. He is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.