Marcelino Serna, born April 26, 1896 in Chihuahua, Mexico, was the most decorated soldier from Texas in WWI, and was the first Hispanic to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
He crossed the Rio Grande entering the US in El Paso, Texas in 1916. He was working as a farm hand in Denver, Colorado when he was rounded up by federal officials. To avoid being deported, he joined the Army. When the Army realized he was a Mexican national, they told him he did not have to fight, but he chose to stay. For his actions at Saint-Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military award. He was also awarded the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster and the World War I Victory Medal, among numerous awards from France.
He passed away in El Paso, Texas in 1992.
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