Medal of Honor: Henry Gurke – World War II – November 9, 1943

Name: Henry Gurke
Rank: Private First Class
Organization: U.S. Marine Corps
Unit: 3rd Marine Raider Battalion
Place and Date: Bougainville, Solomon Islands – 9 November 1943
Entered Service At: Neche, North Dakota
Born: November 6, 1922 – Neche, North Dakota
Departed: Killed in Action – November 9, 1943
Accredited to: North Dakota

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Summary of Action

At a vital roadblock near Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville, Pfc. Henry Gurke and another Marine fought shoulder to shoulder against waves of attacking Japanese soldiers. Their two-man foxhole became the focus of the enemy’s furious assault — bullets, grenades, and shrapnel raining down as they poured out deadly fire from their position.

When a Japanese grenade landed directly between them, Gurke saw the split-second choice before him. Knowing his comrade manned the automatic weapon that could hold off the enemy, he shoved the Marine aside and threw himself over the grenade. The blast tore through him, saving his fellow Marine and keeping the defensive line intact.

Henry Gurke’s selfless act preserved the position, saved his brother-in-arms, and stands as one of the most courageous moments in the history of the Marine Raiders.

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Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps.
Born: 6 November 1922, Neche, N. Dak.
Accredited to: North Dakota.

Citation:
For extraordinary heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty while attached to the 3d Marine Raider Battalion during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands area on 9 November 1943. While his platoon was engaged in the defense of a vital road block near Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville Island, Pfc. Gurke, in company with another Marine, was delivering a fierce stream of fire against the main vanguard of the Japanese. Concluding from the increasing ferocity of grenade barrages that the enemy was determined to annihilate their small, 2-man foxhole, he resorted to a bold and desperate measure for holding out despite the torrential hail of shells. When a Japanese grenade dropped squarely into the foxhole, Pfc. Gurke, mindful that his companion manned an automatic weapon of superior fire power and therefore could provide more effective resistance, thrust him roughly aside and flung his own body over the missile to smother the explosion. With unswerving devotion to duty and superb valor, Pfc. Gurke sacrificed himself in order that his comrade might live to carry on the fight. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.