Before dawn on Okinawa, a Japanese counterattack slammed into his company’s flank. He sent his men to cover—then stood alone to stop the assault.
Across open fields swept by machine guns, mortars, and cannon fire, he kept moving forward. With his light machine gun at his hip, he blasted a path into the German stronghold.
A burning phosphorus bomb exploded inside the B-29 and turned the aircraft into an inferno. Blinded and on fire, he carried it through smoke and flames to save everyone aboard.
He could have left on the helicopter. Instead, he stayed on the ground with the wounded and fought beside soldiers who were being overrun.
In a split second beside a muddy pond, he saw the danger before anyone else. He chose to shield his fellow Marines with his own body.
His B-17 was torn apart by fighters, burning, wounded, and nearly uncontrollable. With one crewman unable to jump, he chose to stay with the doomed aircraft and bring it home.
When the patrol was hit and men fell wounded in the open, he turned his machine gun into a shield. His stand saved American lives and forced the enemy to break contact.
