Jose Lopez was born in Mexico and orphaned at 8 years old. He lived with relatives in Brownsville, TX where he developed an interest in boxing. As a young man Jose traveled the world as a competitive boxer. In 1934 while competing in Melbourne Australia, Jose joined the Merchant Marines and spent the next 5 years traveling the world. In 1942, Lopez returned to Brownsville and married his girlfriend. Soon after, Lopez was drafted into the US Army. He was stationed at Fort Sam Houston for a short time before transferred to Camp Roberts for basic training and assigned to M Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment 2nd Infantry division. The 2nd shipped out to the United Kingdom and trained for the Normandy invasion. The division landed in Normandy on June 7 where Lopez was wounded. He refused evacuation. The 2nd Division fought in the Normandy and through Belgium where it was located on Dec 16 when German forces broke through the Allies lines in the Ardennes. During the Battle of the Bulge, Lopez took a heroic one man stand against an advancing enemy near the town of Kninkelt, Belgium. For this action Lopez was acknowledged with the medal of honor. Lopez reenlisted in the Army in 1949 and retired in 1973, retiring to San Antonio, TX where he worked for the Veterans Administration The Jose M Lopez Middle School in San Antonio, TX is named for him. Courtesy of World War 2 Musueum,