Medal of Honor: Edward Gomez, Korean War, September 14, 1951

Edward Gomez
Korean War
September 14, 1951 – Hill 749, Korea

The battlefield at Hill 749 was one of smoke, fire, and relentless enemy pressure. Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, was locked in a brutal fight against fortified and determined enemy forces. In the chaos, ammunition was life, and Private First Class Edward Gomez, serving as an ammunition bearer, shouldered the burden of keeping his machine gun squad supplied.

Through a withering barrage, Gomez ran again and again into exposed fire-swept ground, hauling ammunition to the gun that anchored his squad’s defense. Each trip was a gamble with death, but his determination never faltered. As the Marines dug in against an imminent counterattack, Gomez moved down an abandoned trench, searching for a better position for the machine gun.

It was then that fate struck. A hostile grenade landed between him and his weapon. In that instant, Gomez had a choice—to save himself or to save the Marines around him. He chose without hesitation. Shouting a warning to his comrades, he seized the grenade, clutched it to his chest, and hurled himself into the ditch. A heartbeat later, the grenade detonated, the full force absorbed by his body.

By giving his life, Edward Gomez saved his brothers-in-arms. His sacrifice inspired the Marines to fight with renewed fury, repelling the counterattack and holding their ground against superior numbers. His courage was not just an act of desperation, but of decisive spirit, unmatched valor, and a devotion to comrades greater than life itself.

Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an ammunition bearer in Company E, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Bolding advancing with his squad in support of a group of riflemen assaulting a series of strongly fortified and bitterly defended hostile positions on Hill 749, Pfc. Gomez consistently exposed himself to the withering barrage to keep his machine gun supplied with ammunition during the drive forward to seize the objective. As his squad deployed to meet an imminent counterattack, he voluntarily moved down an abandoned trench to search for a new location for the gun and, when a hostile grenade landed between himself and his weapon, shouted a warning to those around him as he grasped the activated charge in his hand. Determined to save his comrades, he unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and, diving into the ditch with the deadly missile, absorbed the shattering violence of the explosion in his body. By his stouthearted courage, incomparable valor, and decisive spirit of self-sacrifice, Pfc. Gomez inspired the others to heroic efforts in subsequently repelling the outnumbering foe, and his valiant conduct throughout sustained and enhanced the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.