Little Village in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza

Photographed By Sean Flynn

1. Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza Marker

Inscription. On February 13, 1945, at the age of 22,
while serving with the 511th
Parachute Infantry Regiment in the
Battle of Luzon, Philippine Islands,
Manuel Perez Jr. was awarded, for
action above and beyond the call
of duty, the Congressional Medal
of Honor.
He was killed in action by enemy
sniper fire on March 14, 1945.

Erected 1981 by City of Chicago; Manuel Pérez Jr. American Legion Post 1017.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Hispanic Americans • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Medal of Honor Recipients series list.

Location. 41° 50.635′ N, 87° 43.974′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Little Village. Memorial is on 26th Street east of Kostner Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker can be found in the center of the plaza. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4345 West 26th Street, Chicago IL 60623, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Manuel Pérez, Jr. Memorial Plaza (a few steps from this marker); Rudy Lozano (approx. 0.4 miles away); Site of Cicero Town Hall (approx. 0.8 miles away); Cicero Veterans Memorial

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(approx. 0.9 miles away); Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Parish (approx. 1.3 miles away); Lithuanian Independence (approx. 1.4 miles away); T.G. Masaryk Czech School (approx. 1.8 miles away); a different marker also named T.G. Masaryk Czech School (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

More about this marker. According to the Little Village Community Foundation, this plaza is the only memorial in Illinois named after a Mexican-American veteran. It was dedicated in 1981; a mural depicting Pérez's heroics was added to a wall on the south end of the small park in 2021.

A separate, newer marker with a bio of Pérez in both English and Spanish can be found about 10 yards from this marker, near the sidewalk and street.

Regarding Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza. Pérez was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, moved to Chicago at age 2 and was raised in the city's Little Village neighborhood, where this plaza can be found. Pérez graduated from Crane Technical High School in 1941 and was drafted into the Army in 1943. He volunteered for parachute duty and was sent

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 16, 2023

2. Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza Marker

South Kolin Avenue, which dead-ends into the plaza, is in the background.

to the Pacific Theater.

On February 13, 1945, according to his Congressional Medal of Honor citation, Pérez, lead scout for Company A, 511th Parachute Infantry, 11th Airborne Division singlehandedly killed 18 enemy troops in a daring raid that secured an enemy pillbox and enabled his company to advance. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in December 1945.

In addition to this plaza and the American Legion post dedicated to him by Mexican-American veterans, there is also a Manuel Pérez School in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, east of here. In Oklahoma, the Army reserve center of the 221st Unit Army Hospital in Oklahoma City is named after Pérez, and there is also a Manuel Pérez Park in Oklahoma City.

Also see . . .
1. Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Manuel Perez Jr. (Submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Manuel Perez, Jr. A bio of Manuel Perez Jr. from the University of Texas's Voces Oral History Collection.

Excerpt: "In 1946, on Washington’s birthday, the Medal of Honor was presented to Pérez’s father on the International Bridge between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. And that same year, shortly after the war ended, returning Mexican American veterans formed Chicago’s American Legion Manual Pérez, Jr. Post 1017 in honor of Pérez’s
Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15, 2023

3. Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza
A view of the plaza from across 26th Street
memory."

(Submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Additional commentary.
1. The text of Manuel Perez Jr.'s Medal of Honor citation
Awarded in December 1945:

"The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Private First Class Manuel Perez, Jr., United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty on 13 February 1945, while serving with Company A, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division. Private First Class Perez was lead scout for Company A, which had destroyed 11 of 12 pillboxes in a strongly fortified sector defending the approach to enemy-held Fort William McKinley on Luzon, Philippine Islands. In the reduction of these pillboxes, he killed five Japanese in the open and blasted others in pillboxes with grenades. Realizing the urgent need for taking the last emplacement, which contained two twin-mount .50-caliber dual-purpose machine guns, he took a circuitous route to within 20 yards of the position, killing four of the enemy in his advance. He threw a grenade into the pillbox, and, as the crew started withdrawing through a tunnel just

Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15.2023

4. Manuel Perez Jr. Memorial Plaza mural

This mural was designed by artist Sergio Maciel and incorporates Perez's Congressional Medal of Honor, his photograph, a patch for the 11th Airborne Division and an image of soldiers on the move.

to the rear of the emplacement, shot and killed four before exhausting his clip. He had reloaded and killed four more when an escaping Japanese threw his rifle with fixed bayonet at him. In warding off this thrust, his own rifle was knocked to the ground. Seizing the Jap rifle, he continued firing, killing two more of the enemy. He rushed the remaining Japanese, killed three of them with the butt of the rifle and entered the pillbox, where he bayoneted the one surviving hostile soldier. Single-handedly, he killed 18 of the enemy in neutralizing the position that had held up the advance of his entire company. Through his courageous determination and heroic disregard of grave danger, Private First Class Perez made possible the successful advance of his unit toward a valuable objective and provided a lasting inspiration for his comrades."

— Submitted December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

Manuel Perez Jr. (1923-1945) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project, University of Texas at Austin

5. Manuel Perez Jr. (1923-1945)

City of Chicago Community Development Program plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Sean Flynn, December 15, 2023

6. City of Chicago Community Development Program plaque

This marker is next to the plaza's central marker, immediately to the west. Jane M. Byrne is, to date, the only woman to serve as Chicago's mayor.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 23, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 17, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 54 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 17, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 5. submitted on December 18, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 6. submitted on December 17, 2023, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.