Frederick Riefkohl was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and became a World War I hero who led a successful showdown with a German submarine.
But Riefkohl did not receive the Medal of Honor, America’s highest award for valor in combat, to commemorate his WWI gallantry.
Park University officials say this is the first such systematic review of minority veterans of the Great War. Research will continue until 2025, when documentation supporting Medal of Honor nominations will be forwarded to the Department of Defense for possible action, including posthumous awards.“Obviously, a huge example was Melvin Morris when he was awarded — what was it, 30 years later, 40 years later? — the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Vietnam,” he said.
President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Morris during a March 2014 ceremony in the East Room of the White House. Morris had previously been bestowed the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest commendation.In 2015, a life-sized bronze statue of Morris was unveiled at Riverfront Park in Cocoa. The Civilian Military Community Foundation raised funds for the statue.
“Minority veterans who exhibited the highest acts of valor during WWI deserve to be recognized with the Medal of Honor,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said in a 2019 news release announcing the review.“We cannot erase the discrimination minority service members faced, but we can make sure their heroic deeds are acknowledged and honored,” said Blunt, who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland.
“He has the Southerner’s fighting blood, held in check by New England conservatism, the Westerner’s fondness of adventure, and the American college man’s weakness for all that’s jolly,” the entry said.
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