Luis E. Fonseca, Jr. (born 1980) is a retired United States Navy hospital corpsman who was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism on March 23, 2003, while assigned to a Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle platoon serving with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, during the Battle of Nasiriyah in Nasiriyah, Iraq. This was the first major battle fought in Iraq by the United States Marine Corps (and United States Army) during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Fonseca was born in Frankfurt, West Germany in 1980, where his father was stationed while serving in the United States Army. When his father retired from the army in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Fonseca and his older sister were raised there by his parents.
Although Fonseca dropped out of high school, he continued his education. Fonseca graduated with his associate degree in June 2015 and is currently working on his prerequisites for PA school.
Fonseca initially wanted to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, but decided otherwise when he discovered that they did not have a dedicated medical occupational specialty. He ended up enlisting in the United States Navy to become a hospital corpsman in 1999, and graduated from Recruit Training Command Great Lakes in September of that year. Fonseca graduated from the Navy's Hospital Corpsman "A" School in February 2000. He was assigned to the Fleet Marine Force and graduated from the Marine Corps Field Medical Service School in May 2000. He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, from May 2000 to August 2003, and to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, from August 2003 to July 2004. Afterwards, he served at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune from July 2004 until May 2007, and later, with the Navy's amphibious assault ship .
Fonseca served two combat tours with the Marines in Iraq, in 2003 and 2005, and one tour with the Marines in the War in Afghanistan, from November 2003 to May 2004. On 11 August 2004, he was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in Iraq on 23 March 2003, by Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The stress of his combat tours, combined with the fame and attention received as a result of being awarded the nation's second highest medal for valor in combat, led Fonseca to alcohol abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ultimately, his commanders intervened, and Fonseca received assistance in the form of counseling and medication, making a recovery possible.
Fonseca's awards and decorations: