Puerto Rican veteran of the Vietnam War living today. Silver Stars Otero Barreto earned both his Silver Stars in the first months of 1968, a period dominated by the Tet Offensive. A member of Company A, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 502nd Infantry (assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Second Brigade), Otero Barreto won his first Silver Star in an action on 17 February near Quang Tri (the brigade was part of Operation Jeb Stuart), while the second came north of Hue on 1 May (part of Operation Carentan II). During the 17 February fight, Otero Barreto's unit was operating near Quang Tri when they encountered concealed enemy positions and came under heavy fire. Then a staff sergeant, Otero Barreto took control of a machine gun (according to the Silver Star citation the gunner had been wounded and the assistant gunner killed) and covered the withdrawal of his platoon until he expended all the gun's ammunition. Wounded during the fight, he also organized the unit's orderly withdrawal from the area. His second Silver Star was awarded less than three months later (1 May), and came during Operation Carentan II north of Hue. Still with Company A, although promoted to Platoon Sergeant, Otero Barreto's unit was occupying defensive positions near a village when they came under attack. According to the award citation, the attackers were part of the 8th Battalion, 90th North Vietnamese Army Regiment and were trying to break through the cordon established around the village. The attacks began at 0415, and after three assaults failed the NVA fell back into the village. According to the award citation, Otero Barreto led his squad into the village, neutralizing several defensive positions in the process, and positioned his squad to provide covering fire so the rest of the company could advance. Otero Barreto later earned a Bronze Star with Echo Company's Recon Platoon on 3 December 1968. Post-War Honors On 22 June 2012, Otero Barreto was the keynote speaker at a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Dinner in Lorain, Ohio. On 1 September 2006, the Coalición Nacional Puertorriqueña (National Puerto Rican Coalition) honored Otero Barreto with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" in a Conference held at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago. The keynote speaker was U.S. Congressman Luis Gutierrez. A transitional home for veterans in Springfield, Massachusetts, the SFC Jorge Otero-Barreto Homeless Veterans Transitional Home, was also named after Otero Barreto. The home is managed by the