Tag: MEDAL

On January 3, 2025, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will award the Medal of Honor to seven U.S. Army Soldiers:  Private Bruno R. Orig (posthumous), Private First Class Wataru Nakamura (posthumous), Corporal Fred B. McGee (posthumous), Private First Class Charles R. Johnson (posthumous), retired General Richard E. Cavazos (posthumous), Captain Hugh R. Nelson, Jr. (posthumous), and Specialist Fourth Class Kenneth J. David.    

Private Bruno R. Orig will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with Company G, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division in the vicinity of Chipyong-ni, Korea, on February 15, 1951.  While returning from a wire laying mission, Private Orig observed a number of his comrades who had been wounded in a fierce enemy attack that was still in progress. With complete disregard for his own safety, he went to the aid of these men and remained in an exposed position in order to administer first aid.  With the assistance of several comrades from the company command post, he began removing the wounded to a place of safety.  While returning from one of these trips, he noticed that all except one man of a machine-gun crew had been wounded. Without hesitation, he volunteered to man the weapon. Remaining in this position, he placed such effective fire on the enemy that a withdrawing friendly platoon was able to move back without a single casualty.  Private Orig continued to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy until their company positions were overrun. Later that day, when the lost ground was recaptured, Private Orig was found dead beside his weapon, and the area in front of his gun was littered with enemy dead. 

Private First Class Wataru Nakamura will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with Company I, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division in the vicinity of P’ungch’on-ni, Korea on May 18, 1951.  At daybreak on May 18, 1951, Private First Class Nakamura volunteered to check and repair a communications line between his platoon and the command post. As he made his way along the line in the early morning half-light, he was brought under fire by an enemy force that had surrounded friendly positions and was threatening to break the company defense lines. Immediately, without regard for his own safety and without waiting for help, he rushed the enemy with fixed bayonet engaged.  Singlehandedly, he attacked and destroyed a hostile machine-gun nest and drove the enemy from several of the bunkers they had captured.  When his ammunition was depleted, he withdrew under intense enemy fire.  Then he met an ammunition party ascending the hill. Quickly briefing the officer in charge, Private Nakamura rearmed himself and, covered by the fire of the officer in charge and two comrades, returned to the attack.  In a fierce charge, he killed three of the enemy in one bunker and killed and seriously wounded another in the last enemy-held bunker.  Continuing to press the attack, he was killed by an enemy grenade. 

Corporal Fred B. McGee will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity near Tang-Wan-Ni, Korea, on June 16, 1952, in an assault on enemy fortified positions.  As gunner on a light machine gun in a weapons squad, Corporal McGee delivered a heavy volume of supporting fire from an exposed position despite intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire directly on his location. Though forced to move his gun several times, he continued to support the assault and give covering fire to the assault elements of his platoon.  When his squad leader was wounded, he assumed command and moved the squad even farther forward to a more exposed position in order to deliver neutralizing fire on an enemy machine gun that was sweeping another assault platoon with deadly flanking fire.  When Corporal McGee’s machine gunner was mortally wounded, he took over the gun. On order, he directed his squad to withdraw and voluntarily remained behind to help evacuate the wounded and dead.      Though he was wounded in the face, he heroically exposed himself by standing straight up in intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire and attempting to evacuate the body of the company runner.   Forced to abandon the body of the company runner, he aided in moving a wounded man to the rear to safety through a huge volume of enemy mortar and artillery fire.

Private First Class Charles R. Johnson will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity beyond the call of duty while serving as a Browning Automatic Rifleman with Company B, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, Republic of Korea, June 11-12, 1953.  During the night of June 11, Chinese forces attacked Private First Class Johnson’s unit during a massive nighttime assault. During the ensuing battle, overwhelming numbers of Chinese troops assaulted the trenches and bunkers that were defended by Private First Class Johnson and his squad.  Wounded from a direct artillery hit on his bunker and subsequently from a hand grenade thrown inside the bunker, Private First Class Johnson, without regard for his own injuries, administered first aid to those more seriously injured.  Understanding the seriousness of the situation and under direct fire from the enemy, Private First Class Johnson personally dragged a wounded soldier to the safety of a secure bunker, stopping intermittently to aid injured soldiers and kill several enemy members in hand-to-hand combat.  Recognizing their untenable situation and disregarding his personal safety, Private First Class Johnson exited the bunker, placing himself between the enemy and his injured comrades to hold off the enemy as best as he could.  Private First Class Johnson’s brave and selfless efforts were credited with saving the lives of as many as 10 soldiers.   Private First Class Johnson was killed in action in the early morning of June 12, 1953.

Then-First Lieutenant Richard E. Cavazos will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the Company Commander, Company E, 2d Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, on June 14 and 15, 1953, in the vicinity of Sagimak, Korea.  On the night of June 14, 1953, Lieutenant Cavazos led his men in a raid on the entrenched enemy, upon whom heavy casualties were inflicted.  When a heavy barrage was laid on the position by the enemy, Lieutenant Cavazos withdrew the company and regrouped his men.  Lieutenant Cavazos twice more led the company through the heavy barrage in assaults on the enemy position, each time destroying vital enemy equipment and personnel.  When the United Nations element was ordered to withdraw, Lieutenant Cavazos remained alone on the enemy outpost to search the area for missing men. Exposed to heavy hostile fire, Lieutenant Cavazos located five battle casualties.  He evacuated them, one at a time, to a point on the reverse slope of the hill from which they could be removed to safety.  Lieutenant Cavazos then made four more trips between the United Nations position and the enemy-held hill, searching for casualties and evacuating scattered groups of men who had become confused. Not until he was assured that the hill was cleared did he get treatment for the wounds sustained during the action.  Lieutenant Cavazos went on to serve for over thirty years, attaining the rank of four-star General.  He retired from military service in 1984 and died on October 29, 2017, in San Antonio, Texas, at age 88.  On May 9, 2023, Fort Hood was renamed Fort Cavazos in honor of General Cavazos.   

Captain Hugh R. Nelson, Jr. will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a member of the 114th Aviation Company (Airmobile Light) on June 5, 1966, near Moc Hoa, Republic of Vietnam.  Captain Nelson was acting as Aircraft Commander of an armed Huey helicopter when it was struck by hostile gun fire, crash landed in the middle of many enemy positions, and had all weapons destroyed in the crash. Captain Nelson exited the aircraft to aid his three wounded comrades: two Specialists and a pilot. He ignored his own injuries, debarked the aircraft, and started to evacuate his fellow soldiers.

Proceeding to the left side of the aircraft, he removed a dazed Specialist who had been pinned in the cargo compartment. After placing the Specialist on the ground and observing that the injured pilot had managed to get out of the aircraft, he climbed into the severely damaged helicopter to assist the other Specialist who was still trapped in the aircraft.  Although the enemy began a heavy volume of automatic and small arms fire at a range of approximately 30 feet from the aircraft, he continued his brave efforts until he freed the second trapped Specialist.  He then forced the second Specialist to the ground while using his own body as a human shield to cover his comrade. Captain Nelson was killed by the gun fire, while the Specialist survived. He saved the life of his fellow soldier at the sacrifice of his own.  Captain Nelson’s selfless sacrifice allowed his wounded comrade to use a smoke grenade to signal supporting aircraft in the area, which responded immediately and successfully evacuated the three wounded crew members and Captain Nelson’s remains.    

Then-Private First Class Kenneth J. David will receive the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a radio-telephone operator during contact with an enemy force near Fire Support Base Maureen, Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, on May 7, 1970.  Private First Class David’s company came under an intense attack from a large hostile force, which resulted in numerous friendly casualties.  He immediately took up a position to engage the enemy in such a way to draw fire away from his comrades.  Without regard for his own life, he moved to a position in front of the perimeter and just to the south. Surrounded on three sides by the larger enemy force, he engaged them with his rifle and hand grenades.  When the enemy attempted to concentrate their fire on the wounded, Private First Class David jumped from his position and yelled to draw the fire back to himself. During this time, he was wounded by an incoming satchel charge.  His comrades came to his aid, but he assured them he was able to continue the fight. He continued to draw the enemy fire away from the friendly Medevac helicopters that were trying to land. It was not until the last helicopter was landing that he retreated from his position in front of the perimeter and continued laying down fire until finally being evacuated himself.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEDAL OF HONOR:

The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the armed forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty while:

• engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;

• engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or

• serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life.  There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit.

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