130 pounds. Five foot five. An orphan from Oaxaca, Mexico, who picked cotton in Texas and fought 55 boxing matches under the name Kid Mendoza.
On December 17, 1944, near Krinkelt, Belgium, this man found himself alone on the left flank of Company K with a 41-pound Browning machine gun, four ammunition belts, and a column of Tiger tanks rolling straight at him. His assistant gunner was dead. His ammunition bearer was dead. His squad had already pulled back. Two hundred men behind him were about to be cut off and destroyed by the 12th SS Panzer Division.
He had every reason to run. He had orders to fall back. Nobody would have blamed him.
He stayed.
The U.S. Army's own official report used words for his actions that day that you almost never see in military documents. The fight lasted six and a half hours. The story of how it ended — and who this man really was — is not one you'll forget.
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