World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the award posthumously on December 27, 1945 for his actions as a private first class with Company A, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, US Army, on February 13, 1945, at the Battle of Luzon, Philippines. As a youth, he moved from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Chicago, Illinois where he was raised by his father and paternal grandmother. After the US entered World War II, he joined the US Army and attended paratrooper school after his basic training. In January 1945 he was sent to the Philippines as part of the US force intent to drive out the Japanese. While attacking Fort William McKinley on the Island of Luzon, he became aware that the pillboxes were preventing the advance of his division, and took it upon himself to charge the fortifications and blast them away with grenades. Due to his actions, which resulted in 18 enemy deaths, his unit was able to advance. A month later, he was killed by an enemy sniper at the age of 22. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty on 13 February 1945, while serving with Company A, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division. Private First Class Perez was lead scout for Company A, which had destroyed 11 of 12 pillboxes in a strongly fortified sector defending the approach to enemy-held Fort William McKinley on Luzon, Philippine Islands. In the reduction of these pillboxes, he killed five Japanese in the open and blasted others in pillboxes with grenades. Realizing the urgent need for taking the last emplacement, which contained two twin-mount .50-caliber dual-purpose machineguns, he took a circuitous route to within 20 yards of the position, killing four of the enemy in his advance. He threw a grenade into the pillbox, and, as the crew started withdrawing through a tunnel just to the rear of the emplacement, shot and killed four before exhausting his clip. He had reloaded and killed four more when an escaping Japanese threw his rifle with fixed bayonet at him. In warding off this thrust, his own rifle was knocked to the ground. Seizing the Jap rifle, he continued firing, killing two more of the enemy. He rushed the remaining Japanese, killed three of them with the butt of the rifle and entered the pillbox, where he bayoneted the one surviving hostile soldier. Single-handedly, he killed 18 of the enemy in neutralizing the position that had held up the advance of his entire company. Through his courageous determination and heroic disregard of grave danger, Private First Class Perez made possible the successful advance of his unit toward a valuable objective and provided a lasting inspiration for his comrades."