Lance Corporal José L. Rivera, Corporal Miguel Rivera-Sotomayor, and Sergeant Angel Mendez, members of the United States Marine Corps, were awarded the Navy Cross for their heroic actions. Mendez was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on March 16, 1967, for saving the life of his platoon commander, Lieutenant Ronald D. Castille (one of the seven justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania). U.S. Senator Charles Schumer has recommended that Mendez' award be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Another highly-decorated soldier in the Vietnam War was Sergeant First Class Jorge Otero Barreto from the town of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He was awarded 38 decorations, among them 2 Silver Star Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals with "V" for Valor, 4 Army Commendation Medals, 5 Purple Heart Medals and 5 Air Medals.