List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients_for_World_War_II

List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II

List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II

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This is a list of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II. The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an "enemy of the United States" or an "opposing foreign force". Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously.[1]

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German and Soviet invasion of Poland.[2] This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers.

The United States was drawn into World War II on December 8, 1941, a day after the Axis-member Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu that killed almost 2,500 people in what was considered the biggest peacetime loss on American soil inflicted by foreign people at that time.

For actions during World War II, 472 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor.[3] Seventeen of these were Japanese-Americans fighting in both Europe and the Pacific, many of which were upgraded from Distinguished Service Crosses during the Clinton administration. Additionally, Douglas Albert Munro was the only serviceman from the United States Coast Guard in United States military history to receive the Medal for his actions during the war.

The earliest action for which a U.S. serviceman earned a World War II Medal of Honor was the attack on Pearl Harbor, for which 17 U.S. servicemen were awarded a Medal, although they did so "while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force" rather than "enemy" since the United States was neutral during the events of December 7, 1941. The last action to earn a contemporaneous Medal of Honor prior to the August 15, 1945, end of hostilities in World War II, were those of Melvin Mayfield, on July 29, 1945 – though several honorees may have been cited for their Medal after Mayfield's recognition on May 31, 1946. Additionally, seven African-American and twenty-two Asian-American soldiers who had received the Distinguished Service Cross during the war were awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997 and 2000 – most of them posthumously – after two studies determined that racial discrimination had caused them to be overlooked at the time.[4]

A

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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B

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C

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  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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G

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

Robert E. Galer Marine Corps Major Solomon Islands area Aug 1942 Sep 1942 For service in the Solomon Islands as the leader of a Marine fighter squadron.
William W. Galt  Army Captain Villa Crocetta, Italy May 29, 1944 For his leadership and courage in directing an assault against an entrenched force that had repulsed two previous attacks.
Archer T. Gammon  Staff Sergeant near Bastogne, Belgium January 11, 1945 While under fire from a German machine gun and tank, counterattacked the German force and forced them to retreat with grenade and small arms fire.
Joe Gandara  Private Amfreville, France June 9, 1944 Advanced voluntarily and alone toward an enemy position and destroyed three hostile machine guns before being fatally wounded.
Marcario Garcia Private near Grosshau, Germany November 27, 1944 After realizing that his company could not advance because it was pinned down by enemy machine gun fire, on his own initiative, went alone and destroyed 2 enemy emplacements and captured 4 prisoners. Despite being wounded himself, he continued to fight on with his unit until the objective was taken.
Harold A. Garman Private near Montereau, France August 25, 1944 When a boat loaded with wounded came under fire from a German machine gun on the opposite river bank, he dove into the river braving enemy machine gun fire to tow the boat to safety.
Donald A. Gary Navy Lieutenant, Junior Grade Japanese home islands near Kobe, Japan March 19, 1945 For braving hazardous conditions on the USS Franklin when it was hit by enemy fire to save sailors trapped inside the vessel's hull.
Robert E. Gerstung Army Technical Sergeant Siegfried Line near Berg, Germany December 19, 1944
Eric G. Gibson  Technician 5th Grade near Isola Bella, Italy January 28, 1944
Howard W. Gilmore  Navy Commander USS Growler, southwest Pacific January 10, 1943 February 7, 1943 While wounded on the bridge and unable to get below in time, gave the order for the submarine to crash dive to avoid an imminent attack, sacrificing himself to save the ship and the crew.
Harold Gonsalves  Marine Corps Private First Class Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands April 15, 1945 While laying telephone lines for communication with the artillery battalion in Okinawa, he saved 2 other marines after flinging himself atop of a Japanese grenade and taking the full brunt of the resulting explosion allowing the other 2 men to complete the mission.
David M. Gonzales  Army Private First Class Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippines April 25, 1945
Nathan G. Gordon Navy Lieutenant, Junior Grade Bismarck Sea February 15, 1944 Later Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
Donald J. Gott  Air Forces First Lieutenant Saarbrücken, Germany November 9, 1944 Piloted a B-17 aircraft on a bombing run on Saarbrücken. Even though his plane was severely damaged and set ablaze by anti-aircraft fire which wounded the engineer and the radio operator, Gott and co-pilot William E. Metzger Jr. successfully dropped their bombs on the target and flew the plane to friendly territory. After having their crew bail out except for the unconscious radio operator, Gott and Metzger attempted to crashland the plane to save their helpless comrade. The plane exploded, killing the three remaining crewmembers on board.
William J. Grabiarz  Army Private First Class Manila, Luzon, Philippines February 23, 1945 For using his body to shield a wounded officer from hostile fire.
Ross F. Gray  Marine Corps Sergeant Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands February 21, 1945 Single-handedly overcame a strong enemy garrison and completely disarmed a large mine field before finally rejoining his unit.
Stephen R. Gregg Army Technical Sergeant near Montelimar, France August 27, 1944
Kenneth E. Gruennert  Sergeant near Buna, New Guinea December 24, 1942
Henry Gurke  Marine Corps Private First Class Bougainville, Solomon Islands November 9, 1943 Fell on a grenade that landed in his foxhole, saving the man with him

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  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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K

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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L

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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M

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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N

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O

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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P

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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R

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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S

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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T

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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U

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V

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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W

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Y

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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Z

  This along with the  , indicates that the Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously

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  N.B. A   in the citation indicates that the award was given posthumously.

See also


Notes

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
  1. "A Brief History – The Medal of Honor". Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Department of Defense. August 8, 2006. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  2. Official military histories in Commonwealth nations refer to the conflict as the Second World War, while the United States' official histories refer to the conflict as World War II. English translations of the official histories of other nations tend to resolve into English as Second World War also, for example zweite weltkrieg in German. See C.P. Stacey Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, for example. "Official" usage of these terms is giving way to popular usage and the two terms are becoming interchangeable even in formal military history.
  3. This number includes seven late awards presented by President Obama on March 18, 2014 and the award to Garlin Murl Conner by President Trump on June 26, 2018.
  4. Niiya, Brian. "Congressional Medal of Honor recipients," Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  5. "Van Barfoot – Native Americans in the United States Army". www.army.mil. Retrieved April 9, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. Fisher, George (1947). The Story of the 180th Infantry Regiment. San Angelo, Texas: NEWSFOTO Publishing Co. pp. Chapter 6 "A place called Anzio".
  7. "Native American Medal of Honor Recipients – U.S. Army Center of Military History". history.army.mil. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. "Foster Joseph Sayers | World War II | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved March 24, 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

References


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