for the kill. Herrera remained conscious for the next few hours. At the aid station, he said to the examining doctor, "Just try to save my knees, Doc." After two months in an Army field hospital, he was sent to the Army Amputation Center in Utah. During a ninety-day furlough to Phoenix, he was notified that he was to receive the Medal of Honor and traveled to Washington with an uncle who was given time off from his job to help him make the trip. In time, Silvestre Herrera would be fitted with new prosthetic feet, but on August 23, 1945, at the White House, President Harry Truman bent over his wheelchair to present him with the Medal of Honor. More honors A year after Herrera received his White House presentation of the Medal of Honor from President Truman, the Government of Mexico presented him with its Order of Military Merit (First Class). Herrera became the first resident from Arizona to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II. Arizona Governor Sidney P. Osborn declared August 14, 1945 to be "Herrera Day" and welcomed home Pfc. Silvestre S. Herrera with a hero's parade. A drive to bestow upon him citizenship of the only country he knew was started and as a result he was granted United States Citizenship. The citizens of Arizona raised $14,000 to provide him and his growing family with a new home. Later years Valle Del Sol, Inc. recognized Herrera with a Special Recognition Award in 1994, and with a Hall of Fame award in 1999. On March 13, 1996, Herrera was honored by the United States House of Representatives upon recommendation of Congressman Ed Pastor. An elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona – the Silvestre S Herrera School – bears his name. On October 24, 1998, the United States Army Reserve Center in Mesa, which houses the 164th Corps Support Group and later, the 6253rd United States Army Hospital, was dedicated in honor of Silvestre S. Herrera. This dedication was thanks in large part to the efforts of neighbor and long time admirer of Herrera, Sergeant Major Douglas Mattson (retired). On November 26, 2007, Herrera died at his home in Glendale, Arizona. He was buried with full military honors in the West Resthaven Park Cemetery in Glendale. He was buried alongside his wife Ramona, who died in 1991. Awards and decorations See also List of Medal