Beyond Belief

True Stories of New Mexico Heroes That Defy Comprehension

“Beyond Belief – True Stories of New Mexico Heroes That Defy Comprehension” is the most comprehensive book every published to highlight the heroism of the military heroes of the “Land of Enchantment.” It features stories of 117 New Mexico military heroes from the 1,800s to present, with connections to 88 cities, towns, and communities in New Mexico.
They came to service from large cities and small farming communities, some of which are now ghost towns. They included college graduates, as well as young men who never finished high school but came to military service with an admirable degree of dedication to their state and nation. All too many of them died in their moment of heroism.
Some are well known, like Gallup lifetime native Hiroshi Miyamura, a Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient and prisoner of war. Others are almost forgotten by time, until now. During World War II, two New Mexico airmen were among eighty volunteers for the famed Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. Five New Mexico airmen became Air ACEs, credited with shooting down at least five enemy aircraft including Springer, New Mexico’s Daniel Tipton Roberts, who became a DOUBLE ACE before he was himself shot down and killed. Vietnam War airmen Oliver E. O'Mara of Alamogordo and Silver City’s John Smith Hamilton were two of only 200 airmen in history to be awarded the Air Force Cross. The book also profiles two of New Mexico’s Navajo volunteers who served as Codetalkers.
In 1970, during the Vietnam War, Albuquerque Green Beret Franklin Douglas Miller was one of two New Mexico heroes to earn the Medal of Honor. Before the end of that year his brother Walter L. Miller, also a Green Beret, earned the Silver Star in a daring raid into North Vietnam to try and rescue American Prisoners of War. During the more recent Global War on Terrorism, of the 1,500 American servicemen who received the top three combat valor awards including Service Crosses or Silver Stars, nine men from Albuquerque received these top combat honors, more than any other city in the United States. Albuquerque Navy SEAL Mark L. Donald was one of the war’s most highly decorated heroes, earning the Navy Cross and Silver Star, and Albuquerque Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller Thomas E. Case earned the Silver Star twice. Santa Fe’s Leroy Arthur Petry was one of only 28 men to earn the Medal of Honor in that war. All of the stories are inspirational; some with a degree of sadness. New Mexico’s Kenneth and Marshall Westbrook of Farmington and Shiprock were each killed four years apart in the Global War on Terrorism.