Medal of Honor: Joseph Vittori, Korean War, 15–16 September 1951

JOSEPH VITTORI
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company F, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.)
Place and date: Hill 749, Korea, 15–16 September 1951
Entered service at: Beverly, Massachusetts
Born: 1 August 1929, Beverly, Massachusetts

On the blood-soaked slopes of Hill 749 during the Korean War, Corporal Joseph Vittori carved his name into Marine Corps legend. As his company pressed a desperate assault against heavily entrenched enemy positions, the men were suddenly slammed by a savage counterattack. A forward platoon, reeling under ferocious fire and mounting casualties, began to fall back. It was then that Vittori, along with two other volunteers, charged headlong into the storm of fire—not to retreat, but to meet the enemy in brutal hand-to-hand combat. His fearless act of defiance allowed his comrades to regroup and consolidate their shattered line.

As the night dragged on, the fury of battle only deepened. When a desperate call came for a rifleman to man an isolated heavy machine gun on the northern flank—an exposed position raked with fire—Vittori did not hesitate. He sprinted forward through the maelstrom, leaping from foxhole to foxhole, fighting a one-man battle against overwhelming odds. He covered positions abandoned by the dead and wounded, replenished ammunition under withering fire, and even seized the machine gun when its crew was struck down, pouring fire into the charging enemy.

Through hour after hour of unrelenting assault, Vittori stood firm, a solitary line holding back the tide. He simulated strength where there was none, denying the enemy any foothold and buying precious time for reinforcements. Mortally wounded before dawn, he fell amid a field littered with some 200 enemy dead—a testament to the price he exacted from those who tried to break through. His courage and sacrifice not only preserved his company’s position but likely saved the entire battalion from collapse.

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 automatic-rifleman in Company F, in action against enemy aggressor forces. With a forward platoon suffering heavy casualties and forced to withdraw under a vicious enemy counterattack as his company assaulted strong hostile forces entrenched on Hill 749, Cpl. Vittori boldly rushed through the withdrawing troops with 2 other volunteers from his reserve platoon and plunged directly into the midst of the enemy. Overwhelming them in a fierce hand-to-hand struggle, he enabled his company to consolidate its positions to meet further imminent onslaughts. Quick to respond to an urgent call for a rifleman to defend a heavy machine gun positioned on the extreme point of the northern flank and virtually isolated from the remainder of the unit when the enemy again struck in force during the night, he assumed position under the devastating barrage and, fighting a single-handed battle, leaped from 1 flank to the other, covering each foxhole in turn as casualties continued to mount, manning a machine gun when the gunner was struck down and making repeated trips through the heaviest shellfire to replenish ammunition. With the situation becoming extremely critical, reinforcing units to the rear pinned down under the blistering attack and foxholes left practically void by dead and wounded for a distance of 100 yards, Cpl. Vittori continued his valiant stand, refusing to give ground as the enemy penetrated to within feet of his position, simulating strength in the line and denying the foe physical occupation of the ground. Mortally wounded by the enemy machine gun and rifle bullets while persisting in his magnificent defense of the sector where approximately 200 enemy dead were found the following morning, Cpl. Vittori, by his fortitude, stouthearted courage, and great personal valor, had kept the point position intact despite the tremendous odds and undoubtedly prevented the entire battalion position from collapsing. His extraordinary heroism throughout the furious nightlong battle reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.