By Ruby Woods- Robinson,
M.S.L.S., Librarian

As you walk through the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Mississippi, you may meet a very pleasant gentleman who is always smiling. His name is Louis Mojica. This gentleman served during three wars ? WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Retired Sergeant Major Mojica was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in August, 1925. At the age of one, Louis moved to Manhattan, New York, where he spent his youth and obtained his education.

During March 1943, Louis was drafter into the Army. He didn’t know what to expect; but soon found himself trained as an Infantry Man and assigned to 78th Infantry Division in North Carolina. The 78th Infantry Division ("Lightning"[1]) is a unit of the United States Army which served in World War I and World War II and remains today on the organized rolls.

After his Basic Training in North Carolina he was assigned to Europe’s 9th Infantry Division ("Old Reliables”) that landed on Utah Beach on 10 June 1944, cutting off the Contentin Peninsula, and driving on to Cherbourg and penetrated the port's heavy defenses.

Sergeant Major Mojica participated in the Falaise Gap. The battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy.

Louis was then assigned to 47th Infantry Regiment, George Company, and was with this unit when the war ended in Europe, then assigned to return home since the war ended in 1944. He returned to the U. S. and was assigned to Fort Dix for discharge in October, 1945. On May 1949, Louis rejoined the Army and was assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment in Hawaii, when the Korea War broke out; the 5th Infantry Regiment was assigned to Pusan, Korea. In these actions he was wounded a total of three times and received three purple hearts. He was released to active duty until his retirement in 12 November 1970. While in the military, he says proudly, he had the ranks of Private to Sergeant Major.

One of his most enjoyable and memorable assignment was being assigned to CCNY (City College of New York) as an ROTC Instructor. He enjoyed this tour because he instructed challenging, intellectual students, including General Colin Powell. General Powell named Sergeant Major Mojica, as his BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) Instructor in his Autobiography, “My American Journey” (Powell and Persico, 1995).

Sergeant Major Mojica was married to Gertrude who passed away in 1992. He enjoys living at the Armed Forces Retirement Home where he arrived one month before Hurrycane Katina.