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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.
This with the * indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously
Image | Name | Service | Rank | Date of action | Unit | Notes |
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Charles J. Berry * | Marine Corps | Corporal | March 3, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 1st Battalion,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 | Private First Class | March 3, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company I, 3rd Battalion,Sacrificed his life to save the lives of his platoon leader and platoon sergeant | |
Justice M. Chambers | Marine Corps Reserve | Lieutenant Colonel | February 19–22, 1945 | 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division | 3d Assault Battalion Landing Team,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 | Sergeant | February 19, 1945 | 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division | Company B,Namesake of USS Cole (DDG-67) | |
Robert H. Dunlap | Marine Corps Reserve | Captain | February 20–21, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company C, 1st Battalion,Risked his life to gather intelligence about and direct fire on, enemy gun positions | |
Ross F. Gray * | Marine Corps Reserve | Sergeant | February 21, 1945 | 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division | Company A,Single-handedly overcame a strong enemy garrison and completely disarmed a large mine field before finally rejoining his unit. | |
William G. Harrell | Marine Corps | Sergeant | March 3, 1945 | 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company A, 1st Battalion,Risked his life to defend his position against a larger enemy force | |
Rufus G. Herring | USNR | Lieutenant, 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 | Private First Class | February 26, 1945 | 3rd 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 | Platoon Sergeant | March 9, 1945 | 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 1st Battalion,Sacrificed his life to eliminate an enemy threat | |
James D. La Belle * | Marine Corps Reserve | Private First Class | March 8, 1945 | 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Weapons Company,Sacrificed his life to save a group of his fellow Marines by diving on a grenade | |
John H. Leims | Marine Corps Reserve | Second Lieutenant | March 7, 1945 | 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division | Company B,Risked his life to rescue several wounded Marines | |
Jacklyn Harrell Lucas | Marine Corps Reserve | Private First Class | February 20, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 1st Battalion,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 | First Lieutenant | March 8, 1945 | 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 2nd Battalion,Had earlier played football for the New York Giants | |
Harry L. Martin * | Marine Corps Reserve | First Lieutenant | March 26, 1945 | 5th Marine Division | Company C, 5th Pioneer Battalion,Sacrificed his life to help rescue some of his men who had been overrun by the enemy. | |
Joseph J. McCarthy | Marine Corps Reserve | Captain | February 21, 1945 | 2nd 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 | Private | March 14, 1945 | 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Sacrificed his life to save the lives of fellow Marines | |
Francis J. Pierce | Navy | Pharmacist's Mate First Class | March 15–16, 1945 | 2nd 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 | Private First Class | February 19–21, 1945 | 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company E,Saved several of his fellow Marines by sacrificing his life and diving on an enemy grenade | |
Franklin E. Sigler | Marine Corps Reserve | Private | March 14, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company F 2nd Battalion,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 | Corporal | February 19, 1945 | 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company A, 1st Battalion,First Medal of Honor of Iwo Jima. Namesake of USS Stein (FF-1065) | |
George E. Wahlen | Navy | Pharmacist's Mate Second Class | March 3, 1945 | 26th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 2nd Battalion,Although seriously wounded he risked his life to save the lives of several other servicemembers | |
William G. Walsh * | Marine Corps Reserve | Gunnery Sergeant | February 27, 1945 | 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Company G, 3rd Battalion,Sacrificed his life to save a group of fellow Marines | |
Wilson D. Watson | Marine Corps Reserve | Private | February 26–27, 1945 | 2nd 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 | Corporal | February 23, 1945 | 21st Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division | 1st Battalion,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 | Pharmacist's Mate Third Class | March 3, 1945 | 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 3rd Battalion,Killed while performing first aid to a wounded Marine | |
John H. Willis * | Navy | Pharmacist's Mate First Class | February 28, 1945 | 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | 3rd Battalion,Killed by a grenade while assisting a wounded Marine |
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.
Sergeant Darrell Samuel Cole was a United States Marine who posthumously received the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his conspicuous gallantry at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.
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 "Woody" 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.
Gunnery Sergeant William Gary Walsh was a United States Marine who heroically sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. For his actions on February 27, 1945, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor.
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 Korean 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.