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
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 | Corporal | March 3, 1945 | 1st 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 | Private First Class | March 3, 1945 | Company 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 | Lieutenant Colonel | February 19–22, 1945 | 3d 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 | Sergeant | February 19, 1945 | Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division | Namesake of USS Cole (DDG-67) |
 | Robert H. Dunlap | Marine Corps Reserve | Captain | February 20–21, 1945 | Company 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 | Sergeant | February 21, 1945 | Company 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 | Sergeant | March 3, 1945 | Company 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 | 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 | 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Sacrificed his life to eliminate an enemy threat |
 | James D. La Belle* | Marine Corps Reserve | Private First Class | March 8, 1945 | Weapons 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 | Second Lieutenant | March 7, 1945 | Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division | Risked his life to rescue several wounded Marines |
 | Jacklyn Harrell Lucas | Marine Corps Reserve | Private First Class | February 20, 1945 | 1st 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 | First Lieutenant | March 8, 1945 | 2nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Had earlier played football for the New York Giants |
 | Harry L. Martin* | Marine Corps Reserve | First Lieutenant | March 26, 1945 | Company C, 5th Pioneer Battalion, 5th Marine Division | Sacrificed his life to help rescue some of his men who had been overrun by the enemy. |
.jpg) | 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 | Company 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 | Private | March 14, 1945 | Company 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 | Corporal | February 19, 1945 | Company 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 | Pharmacist's Mate Second Class | March 3, 1945 | 2nd 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 | Gunnery Sergeant | February 27, 1945 | Company 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 | 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 | 1st 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 | Pharmacist's Mate Third Class | March 3, 1945 | 3rd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Killed while performing first aid to a wounded Marine |
 | John H. Willis* | Navy | Pharmacist's Mate First Class | February 28, 1945 | 3rd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division | Killed by a grenade while assisting a wounded Marine |
See also
- John Basilone, Medal of Honor recipient (Guadalcanal) killed on Iwo Jima and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
- Raising the flag on Iwo Jima
- The Unknown American Soldier from World War II
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.
- "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
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