Medal of Honor Recipient Articles

Bruce Avery Van Voorhis – Medal of Honor – World War II – July 6,1943

On his sixth and final attack run, Van Voorhis’s aircraft was either caught in enemy fire or the lethal shockwave of his own bombs. His PB4Y-1 plunged into the lagoon, a fiery end to a mission.

MOH

Melvin Earl Newlin – Medal of Honor – Vietnam War – July 4, 1967

At just 18 years old, PFC Melvin Newlin was manning a defensive machine gun position at the remote Nong Son Outpost in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, when a large Viet Cong force launched a coordinated pre-dawn attack.

MOH

Medal of Honor: LeRoy A. Mendonca – Korean War, July 4, 1951

Hill 586: The Last Stand of Sergeant LeRoy A. Mendonca. When his platoon withdrew under overwhelming attack, one man stood alone and held the line.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Frank H. Ono – World War II, July 4, 1944

Undeterred, he grabbed a wounded comrade’s rifle and rejoined the assault. After eliminating two more enemy soldiers, Ono braved heavy fire to aid his injured platoon leader and another wounded rifleman.

MOH

Medal of Honor: William K. Nakamura – World War II, July 4, 1944

When his platoon was pinned down by deadly machine gun fire from a well-concealed enemy position, Nakamura, acting without orders, crawled through open ground with bullets slicing past him.

MOH

Medal of Honor: John Kelvin Koelsch – Korean War, July 3, 1951

John Koelsch chose to fly straight into danger. Word had come that a Marine aviator had been shot down deep in hostile territory, badly wounded and stranded. Without hesitation—and despite deteriorating weather, no escort.

MOH

Medal of Honor: Michael Fleming Folland - Vietnam War, July 3, 1969

Realizing his recoilless rifle ammunition was useless in the tight quarters of the ambush zone, Folland dropped his load and sprinted forward to join his commanding officer in a desperate counterattack.