The Pittsburgh Press (March 24, 1946)
Out of 14 million –
U.S. Medal of Honor awarded to 337 men for deeds in combat
Nearly half of slender band of top heroes received cherished badge posthumously
By Grant Dillman, United Press staff writer
“…who shall in action involving actual conflict with an enemy distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
– Requirement for the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor award winners by states
WASHINGTON (UP) – Here is how the various states ranked in the number of Medal of Honor winners in World War II:
State Army Navy Total Texas 22 6 28 New York 23 4 27 Pennsylvania 24 2 26 California 12 11 23 Ohio 13 4 17 Washington 10 6 16 New Jersey 10 3 13 Illinois 8 4 12 Wisconsin 10 1 11 Virginia 8 2 10 Michigan 6 3 9 Alabama 6 1 7 Massachusetts 3 4 7 Oklahoma 6 1 7 Minnesota 4 3 7 Colorado 6 1 7 Kentucky 4 2 6 South Carolina 5 1 6 Arkansas 4 2 6 Maryland 2 4 6 Missouri 4 2 6 Indiana 4 1 5 Iowa 5 0 5 Connecticut 3 2 5 Florida 4 1 5 Louisiana 4 1 5 West Virginia 3 2 5 Kansas 3 1 4 Mississippi 4 0 4 North Carolina 3 1 4 Tennessee 4 0 4 Georgia 2 2 4 District of Columbia 0 4 4 Utah 0 3 3 Delaware 2 0 2 Arizona 2 0 2 Montana 2 0 2 Nebraska 1 1 2 Oregon 1 1 2 Philippine Islands 1 1 2 New Hampshire 1 0 1 Idaho 1 0 1 Maine 1 0 1 Rhode Island 1 0 1 Wyoming 1 0 1 New Mexico 1 0 1 Vermont 0 1 1 North Dakota 0 1 1 South Dakota 0 1 1 British Columbia 0 1 1 Austria (U.S. address unknown) 0 1 1 Totals 224 93 337
WASHINGTON (March 23) – The red flame of war that licked over most of the world during the last four years left a swath of death and destruction in its wake.
But it also left this country one of its proudest heritages – the slender band of Army and Navy officers and men who won its highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.
Millions of American men saw action in World War II. Uncounted thousands won lesser citations. But out of 14 million U.S. servicemen, only 337 have been awarded the Medal of Honor to date.
What is the Medal of Honor?
It’s the burning sands of North Africa, the wintry blasts of the Aleutians. It’s suffocating death in the bowels of sea. It’s the death thrust of a Japanese slug on Iwo Jima.
It’s America’s badge of courage.
Who was America’s Medal of Honor winner?
From Everywhere, USA
He was Pvt. Joe P. Martinez of Ault, Col., killed in action on Attu; he was Air Forces Maj. Raymond H. Wilkins of Portsmouth, Va., killed on New Britain; he was Seaman 1/c Johnnie David of Weimer, Tex., killed at sea.
He was Chief Watertender Peter Tonich, native of Austria, next of kin unknown.
Where was he from?
He was from peaceful crossroads hamlet and sprawling busy city. He was from farm and factory. He was from the USA.
He was older than many of you imagined. The recklessness of youth was tempered by a braver courage that saw a job and did it.
Slightly over 25
Statistics show the average Navy Medal of Honor winner came from a medium-sized city. He was slightly over 25. The chances are slightly in favor of his being an officer.
And the chances are less than 50-50 that he is still alive.
This isn’t in the statistics. But you also probably would find that he was a pretty average American boy, with a weakness for apple pie and the old swimming hole.
The average Army Medal of Honor winner was a little over 27. He, too, likely came from a medium-sized city. The chances are three-to-one that he was in the infantry, probably a private.
From 47 states
He got a slightly better break with death. Of the 244 Army medal winners, 109 were killed. The Navy lost 52 of its 93 honor medal winners.
Every state in the Union but one contributed to the roll of honor medal winners. In some cases, the claim was scrambled. Some of them were born in one state, but lived in another.
Texas lived up to its fighting history to lead the nation in the number of honor medal heroes. The Lone Star State had 22 in the Army and six in the Navy for a; total of 28.
Right behind with 27 was New York State. Pennsylvania was third, trailed by California, Ohio, Washington, New Jersey and Illinois in that order.
Twenty-seven states had five or more Medal of Honor winners.
New York leads cities
Among the individual cities, New York led with 13 winners. San Antonio was second with five. New York’s total included 10 Army men, three sailors. San Antonio counted four Army men and a lone Marine.
San Antonio’s honor medal winners were typical.
There was Pvt. Cleto Rodriquez, a member of the 37th Ohio Division which waded through Japanese and blood from Bougainville through Manila and into northern Luzon.
Rodriguez and a companion pitted sheer guts and their lives against 300 Japanese in Manila. They killed 182 of them.
The Japanese had built pillboxes containing machine guns. Between these they had dug foxholes for riflemen. In each corner of the building was a 20-mm. gun. There was one large concrete pillbox with a clip-fed 36-mm. gun.
But listen to SSgt. Robert F. Green of Chicago, Ill., who saw the action:
“Slowly crunching and creeping,” he said, “the two men reached a position behind a ruined house after 60 yards from the station. From this pot they could observe the movements of the enemy.
“They fired at chosen targets for an hour and killed 35 and wounded many others. Later they killed 40 from another position… Then the two men moved forward again and knocked out a 20-mm. gun and a heavy machine gun and killed seven of the enemy.”
His companion killed
Rodriquez’s companion, Pvt. John N. Reese Jr. of Pryor, Okla., was killed when they retreated after their ammunition ran dangerously low. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously.
Two days later, Rodriquez killed six more Japanese manning a 20-mm. dual-purpose gun. This time he poked a hole in the wall of a building and fired his automatic rifle pointblank at the enemy gun crew.
Or there was Lt. Col. Robert G. Cole, also of San Antonio. Cole was killed in action in Holland on September 18, 1944. He had won the Medal of Honor previously.
Battalion pinned down
Col. Cole’s parachute infantry battalion suddenly was pinned down by withering enemy fire after it had taken four bridges from the Germans while advancing on Carentan, France.
Again, listen to an actual witness – Lt. Col. Patrick F. Cassidy of Seattle, Wash., another infantry parachute battalion commander:
“After the devastating and unceasing heavy fire had prevented any move for over an hour and taken heavy casualties,” Col. Cassidy said, “Col. Cole issued orders for his men to assault the enemy positions with fixed bayonets.
Refused to give ground
“Receiving the report that his men were ready, Col. Cole, completely ignoring the concentrated enemy fire, rose to his feet in front of his battalion, blew his whistle to indicate the assault was on, and with drawn pistol shouted to his men to follow him.
“His battalion suffered heavy casualties both in men and officers, but he refused with dogged determination to give up the ground he had gained.”
The battalion fought off German counterattacks for seven hours and finally drove off the enemy.
Such is the stuff of which America’s Medal of Honor winners are made.
“…who shall in action involving actual conflict with an enemy distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”