Sgt. Manuel Mendoza-Valencia
Known to his family and friends as Manny, Manuel Mendoza-Valencia was presented a Purple Heart after he lost both legs while serving in Iraq. An Army Combat Engineer, Valencia was on board an armored personal carrier in Sadr City when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off.Manny’s injuries were so severe that medics had to amputate one of his legs on the spot. Doctors took the other less than a week later. Despite his loss, it was Manny who kept a positive outlook, and encouraged his depressed mother, brother and little sister.
Born in Los Reyes, Mexico, Manny became an American citizen in a bedside ceremony at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He accepted a Sentinels of Freedom Scholarship soon after, and relocated in the San Ramon Valley of Northern California, near his hometown of Boonville.
Manny lives in an apartment donated by Shapell Homes, and works for A T & T as a project manager. He gets around town in a hand-operated van with an entry lift provided by the Perot Foundation. His family says he’s hardly ever at home, and is constantly on the go.
Manny proudly displays his Purple Heart on a patch sewn to his backpack.