Riverwalk statue honors Medal of Honor Marine Baldomero López, a Tampa native
The nearly seven-foot bronze stands just outside Waterworks Park; Council member Luis Viera championed the CRA-funded project.
TAMPA - A seven-foot-tall bronze statue of First Lt. Baldomero López, the Tampa Marine who died shielding his men from a grenade in the Korean War, was set to be unveiled Tuesday, Oct. 27, just outside Waterworks Park on the Tampa Riverwalk, the city said.
The Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency fully funded the statue, according to the city's announcement, which called it a longtime project of City Council member Luis Viera. "Lt. Baldomero López is an American hero who represents the best of Tampa," Viera said in the release.
López, the son of immigrants, grew up in Ybor City and graduated from Hillsborough High School in 1943 before attending the U.S. Naval Academy, the city said. He volunteered as an infantry officer when the Korean War began and was killed on Sept. 15, 1950, his first day of combat, during the Inchon landings. He was 25.
According to the release, López was hit by machine-gun fire while preparing to throw a grenade, fell beside it and rolled on top of it to protect nearby Marines. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously; the city says he is one of two servicemembers from Tampa to receive it, and the medal is depicted on the statue's uniform.
Mayor Jane Castor said the statue ensures future generations will know "a hometown hero who gave his life to save others." The city said the casting was made by an artist in North Florida. The release did not give the time of the unveiling, the artist's name or the statue's cost.