Medal of Honor Recipient Articles

Medal of Honor: Donald E. Ballard - Vietnam War - May 16, 1968

An ambush exploded across the jungle trail with mortars and automatic weapons tearing into the Marines. A Navy corpsman ran into the fire to save the wounded â€” and then threw himself onto a grenade to protect the men around him.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Joseph E. Muller - Okinawa - May 15-16, 1945

A deadly ridge on Okinawa had pinned down the American advance under relentless machine-gun fire. One sergeant crawled forward alone, charged the enemy head-on, and the next morning gave his life to save the men beside him.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Charles S. Kettles - Vietnam War - May 15, 1967

The landing zone near Duc Pho had become a death trap, torn apart by mortar blasts and machine-gun fire. Again and again, a lone helicopter pilot flew back into the inferno because American soldiers were still trapped on the ground.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Henry Alexius Courtney Jr. - Okinawa - May 14-15, 1945

Sugar Loaf Hill was one of the deadliest battlegrounds on Okinawa, soaked in blood after repeated assaults. A Marine major decided the only way to survive the night was to attack straight into the Japanese defenses.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Henry Johnson - World War I - May 15, 1918

Armed with grenades, a rifle, and finally only a knife, he fought off a German raiding party almost alone in the darkness of the Western Front. Wounded again and again, he refused to let the enemy take one of his fellow soldiers alive.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Daniel John Shea - Vietnam War - May 14, 1969

An ambush ripped across the rice paddies from three directions, cutting down American soldiers in the open. Again and again, a young medic ran back into the fire to bring them home.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Finnis D. McCleery - Vietnam War - May 14, 1968

An American assault on Hill 352 had stalled under devastating enemy fire. One platoon sergeant stood up alone and charged straight into the bunker complex.