#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Juan Zepeda

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army World War II Veteran Juan R. Zepeda.

Following the footsteps of his father, a World War I Veteran, Juan enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. He was assigned to the China-Burma-India Theater and served with the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), otherwise known as Merrill’s Marauders, as a Technical Sergeant Fifth Grade.

In February 1944, Juan volunteered for a high-risk mission to open a land route to China via the Patkai Range situated along the border of Burma and India. There were 130 survivors out of the 2,750 volunteers. Juan was one of them.

A survivor of the war, Juan returned home and turned to serving the youth in his community as a Little League coach in San Antonio.

Juan passed away on April 25, 2017. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in combat.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much of the information as you can put together with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating for how to create the best submission.