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List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima

Summary

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The Battle of Iwo Jima took place in February and March 1945 during World War II and was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The American invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was charged with capturing the airfields on Iwo Jima.

The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 18 kilometers (11 mi) of tunnels. The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands, and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions to the death; of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 216 taken prisoner.

During the two-month-long battle, 27 U.S. military personnel were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions. Of the 27 medals awarded, 22 were presented to Marines and five were presented to United States Navy sailors, four of whom were Hospital Corpsmen, a petty officer rank identified in the table by the WWII-era rating title Pharmacist's Mate. This represents over 25% of the 82 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines,[1] and four of the seven Medals of Honor awarded to Hospital Corpsmen, in the entirety of World War II. The 27 recipients held a wide range of ranks, from private to lieutenant colonel. Fourteen (52%) received their awards posthumously.

Recipients edit

  This with the * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

Image Name Service Rank Date of action Unit Notes
  Charles J. Berry* Marine Corps E-04Corporal March 3, 1945 05-26-011st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division The Erie Avenue Bridge in Lorain, Ohio was renamed in 1988 to the Charles Berry Bridge in honor of Cpl Berry, a native son of the city.
  William R. Caddy* Marine Corps Reserve E-02Private First Class March 3, 1945 05-26-03-ICompany I, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to save the lives of his platoon leader and platoon sergeant
  Justice M. Chambers Marine Corps Reserve O-05Lieutenant Colonel 01945-02-19February 19–22, 1945 04-25-033d Assault Battalion Landing Team, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Led the 8-hour battle to carry the flanking ridge top and reduce the enemy's fields of aimed fire, thus protecting the vital foothold gained
  Darrell S. Cole* Marine Corps Reserve E-05Sergeant February 19, 1945 04-23-01-BCompany B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Namesake of USS Cole (DDG-67)
  Robert H. Dunlap Marine Corps Reserve O-03Captain 01945-02-20February 20–21, 1945 05-26-01-CCompany C, 1st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Risked his life to gather intelligence about and direct fire on, enemy gun positions
  Ross F. Gray* Marine Corps Reserve E-05Sergeant February 21, 1945 04-25-01-ACompany A, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Single-handedly overcame a strong enemy garrison and completely disarmed a large mine field before finally rejoining his unit.
  William G. Harrell Marine Corps E-05Sergeant March 3, 1945 05-28-01-ACompany A, 1st Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Risked his life to defend his position against a larger enemy force
  Rufus G. Herring USNR O-02Lieutenant, Junior Grade February 17, 1945 USS LCI(G)-449 Maintained position in the firing line with his 20-mm guns in action in the face of sustained enemy fire and conned his crippled ship to safety
  Douglas T. Jacobson Marine Corps Reserve E-02Private First Class February 26, 1945 04-23-033rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Risked his life by destroying a total of sixteen enemy positions and approximately seventy-five Japanese
  Joseph R. Julian* Marine Corps Reserve E-06Platoon Sergeant March 9, 1945 05-27-011st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to eliminate an enemy threat
  James D. La Belle* Marine Corps Reserve E-02Private First Class March 8, 1945 05-27-WWeapons Company, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to save a group of his fellow Marines by diving on a grenade
  John H. Leims Marine Corps Reserve O-01Second Lieutenant March 7, 1945 03-09-01-BCompany B, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Risked his life to rescue several wounded Marines
  Jacklyn Harrell Lucas Marine Corps Reserve E-02Private First Class February 20, 1945 05-26-011st Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Covered two Japanese grenades with his body. Survived the blast of the one that exploded. Youngest recipient since the Civil War (turned 17 just 5 days before Iwo Jima D-Day)
  Jack Lummus* Marine Corps Reserve O-02First Lieutenant March 8, 1945 05-27-022nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Had earlier played football for the New York Giants
  Harry L. Martin* Marine Corps Reserve O-02First Lieutenant March 26, 1945 05-5P-CCompany C, 5th Pioneer Battalion, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to help rescue some of his men who had been overrun by the enemy.
  Joseph J. McCarthy Marine Corps Reserve O-03Captain February 21, 1945 04-24-022nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Risked his life to eliminate several enemy troops so his men could move forward
  George Phillips* Marine Corps Reserve E-01Private March 14, 1945 05-28-022nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to save the lives of fellow Marines
  Francis J. Pierce Navy E-06Pharmacist's Mate First Class 01945-03-15March 15–16, 1945 04-24-022nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division Risked his life to save several wounded servicemembers and volunteered for a mission to eliminate an enemy threat
  Donald J. Ruhl* Marine Corps Reserve E-02Private First Class 01945-02-19February 19–21, 1945 05-28-02-ECompany E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Saved several of his fellow Marines by sacrificing his life and diving on an enemy grenade
  Franklin E. Sigler Marine Corps Reserve E-01Private March 14, 1945 05-26-02Company F 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Led a charge against an enemy gun installation which had held up the advance of his company for several days
  Tony Stein* Marine Corps Reserve E-04Corporal February 19, 1945 05-28-01Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division First Medal of Honor of Iwo Jima. Namesake of USS Stein (FF-1065)
  George E. Wahlen Navy E-05Pharmacist's Mate Second Class March 3, 1945 05-26-022nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Although seriously wounded he risked his life to save the lives of several other servicemembers
  William G. Walsh* Marine Corps Reserve E-07Gunnery Sergeant February 27, 1945 05-27-03-GCompany G, 3rd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Sacrificed his life to save a group of fellow Marines
  Wilson D. Watson Marine Corps Reserve E-01Private 01945-02-26February 26–27, 1945 03-09-022nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Risked his life fighting the enemy single-handedly for 15 minutes until his platoon could catch up to him
  Hershel W. Williams Marine Corps Reserve E-04Corporal February 23, 1945 03-21-011st Battalion, 21st Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division Risked his life attacking the enemy for 4 hours with an M2-2 Portable Flamethrower to minimize unit casualties. The last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II
  Jack Williams* USNR E-04Pharmacist's Mate Third Class March 3, 1945 05-28-033rd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Killed while performing first aid to a wounded Marine
  John H. Willis* Navy E-06Pharmacist's Mate First Class February 28, 1945 05-27-033rd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division Killed by a grenade while assisting a wounded Marine

See also edit

References edit

General
  • "Who's Who list of Marines". Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
  • "Medal of Honor recipients". World War II (A - F). United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  • "Medal of Honor recipients". World War II (G - L). United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  • "Medal of Honor recipients". World War II (M - S). United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  • "Medal of Honor recipients". World War II (T - Z). United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  • "Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor statistics. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
Inline
  1. ^ "Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor Statistics. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2009.

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