Medal of Honor: George Benjamin, Jr. – World War II – December 21, 1944

Name: George Benjamin, Jr.
Rank: Private First Class
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company A, 306th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Leyte, Philippine Islands – 21 December 1944
Entered Service At: Carney’s Point, New Jersey
Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Departed: December 21, 1944 (Killed in Action)
Accredited To: New Jersey

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Summary of Action

On December 21, 1944, during combat operations on Leyte in the Philippine Islands, Private First Class George Benjamin, Jr., was serving as a radio operator with Company A, 306th Infantry. His company was engaged against a strongly fortified Japanese position that had halted the advance of the entire battalion.

As a rifle platoon supporting a light tank hesitated under intense enemy fire, Benjamin voluntarily left his relatively protected position. With complete disregard for his own safety, he ran across bullet-swept terrain toward the tank, waving and shouting encouragement to the platoon to follow him forward.

Burdened by his bulky radio and armed only with a pistol, Benjamin penetrated fierce machine-gun and rifle fire and reached the enemy position. There, he killed an enemy soldier in a foxhole and immediately pressed on, annihilating the crew of a light machine gun that was pinning down American troops.

Despite the intense fire now concentrated on him, Benjamin continued to lead the assault, killing two more enemy soldiers and urging his comrades to advance. In the midst of this heroic charge, he was mortally wounded.

After evacuation to an aid station, Benjamin’s thoughts remained fixed on the mission. Enduring severe pain, he requested the battalion operations officer and relayed critical information regarding enemy weapon locations and tactical details he had personally observed during his attack. His courage and leadership directly contributed to the success of the battalion’s advance.

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Medal of Honor Citation

He was a radio operator, advancing in the rear of his company as it engaged a well-defended Japanese strong point holding up the progress of the entire battalion. When a rifle platoon supporting a light tank hesitated in its advance, he voluntarily and with utter disregard for personal safety left his comparatively secure position and ran across bullet-whipped terrain to the tank, waving and shouting to the men of the platoon to follow. Carrying his bulky radio and armed only with a pistol, he fearlessly penetrated intense machinegun and rifle fire to the enemy position, where he killed 1 of the enemy in a foxhole and moved on to annihilate the crew of a light machinegun. Heedless of the terrific fire now concentrated on him, he continued to spearhead the assault, killing 2 more of the enemy and exhorting the other men to advance, until he fell mortally wounded. After being evacuated to an aid station, his first thought was still of the American advance. Overcoming great pain he called for the battalion operations officer to report the location of enemy weapons and valuable tactical information he had secured in his heroic charge. The unwavering courage, the unswerving devotion to the task at hand, the aggressive leadership of Pfc. Benjamin were a source of great and lasting inspiration to his comrades and were to a great extent responsible for the success of the battalion’s mission.