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 (11mi) 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
This with the * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously
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)
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
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the purpose of capturing the island with its two airfields: South Field and Central Field.
Charles Joseph Berry was a Corporal in the Marine Corps who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II.
Joseph Jeremiah McCarthy was a mustang officer in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, who served during World War II and the Korean War. He was also the Superintendent of Ambulances in the Chicago Fire Department; however, with respect for his wartime heroics, firefighters continued to address him by his wartime military rank of “Captain.”
Private First Class James Dennis La Belle enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on November 18, 1943. Fifteen months later, in his first and last battle, he heroically sacrificed his life at Iwo Jima and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor awarded by the United States.
Jacklyn Harold "Jack" Lucas was an American Marine in World War II who was awarded the Medal of Honor at the age of 17 years as a private first class in the Marine Corps during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Hershel Woodrow Williams was a United States Marine Corps Reserve warrant officer and United States Department of Veterans Affairs veterans service representative who received the Medal of Honor, the United States military's highest decoration for valor, for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Williams was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Private George Phillips was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his own life to save the lives of fellow Marines on Iwo Jima by throwing himself over an activated hand grenade.
Tony Stein was a United States Marine who posthumously received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. He received the award for repeatedly making single-handed assaults against the enemy and for aiding wounded Marines during the initial assault on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. He was killed in action ten days later.
George E. Wahlen was a United States Army major who served with the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman attached to a Marine Corps rifle company in World War II and was awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was an Army officer in the Korea War and was wounded in the Vietnam War.
Francis Junior Pierce was a United States Navy hospital corpsman in World War II who received the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the medal for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" on March 15–16, 1945, while assigned to a Marine Corps infantry battalion during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
Jack Williams was a United States Navy hospital corpsman who was killed in action while serving with a Marine Corps infantry unit in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" on March 3, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
John Harlan Willis was a United States Navy hospital corpsman who was killed in action during World War II while serving with a Marine Corps rifle company. He was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" on February 28, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
References
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.
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