Private Joe P. Martinez was mortally wounded on Attu Island after leading a successful charge to capture a mountain pass. He single handedly destroyed more than thirty enemy defenders. For this heroic effort and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 27, 1943. He was the only serviceman from Weld County to receive the Medal of Honor to date, the first Hispanic American in World War II from the United States to receive the Medal of Honor, and the first Private in World War II to receive the Medal of Honor.