Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

25 years ago…

November 11, 1981 – A plaque honoring Marine 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez, Tampa’s first winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, is unveiled during a Veteran’s Day ceremony in downtown Tampa. The plaque, located at the corner of Florida Avenue and Madison Street, cites the heroic actions that Lopez performed on September 15, 1950 during the Inchon invasion of Korea. Wounded as he attempted to hurl a grenade into an enemy pillbox, Lopez fell on top of his live grenade to save the lives of his fellow soldiers.

Editor’s note:  The plaque, pictured here, has since been moved to its current location at the corner of Morgan and Madison.

Courtesy of the Tampa Bay History Center.

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