José Meléndez-Pérez
José E. Meléndez-Pérez (born January 2, 1946) is a
Personal life
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José Meléndez-Pérez is one of three sons born to chauffeur, Nicolas Meléndez (1912–1998) and women's nightwear factory maker, Francisca Pérez (born 1924). He has six half-siblings (three half-brothers and three half-sisters) from his father's other relationships. His parents divorced in 1975 after 30 years of marriage. He married twice and has five children, Freddy, Maribel, Brenda, Jose Jr. and Nelson. One of Meléndez-Pérez sons, José Jr. is a Directorate Sergeant Major in the
Career
Meléndez-Pérez's story is told in the book Instinct by Michael Smerconish (Lyons Press, September 2009), as well as Glenn Beck's Miracles and Massacres (Threshold Editions/Mercury Radio Arts, 2013). Prior to the formation of the
He joined the United States Army, where he served honorably for over 26.5 years (1965-1992). He served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War, 1965–1966 and 1969–1970. He was later assigned as a first sergeant to the United States Army Recruiting Command.
After retiring from the U.S. Army, he began his career with INS in November 1992 at
Actions on August 4, 2001
A
Meléndez-Pérez advised his superiors to have him sent back. According to Meléndez-Pérez's testimony, he sent Qahtani back out of the United States, the man allegedly turned around to him and said "something to the effect of 'I'll be back.'"[1]