Medal of Honor: Weedon E. Osborne - World War I - June 6, 1918
As Marines attacked Bouresches under heavy German fire, wounded men fell across the battlefield. A young Navy dentist repeatedly braved the open ground to carry them to safety until he gave his life.
June 9, 2026
Name: Weedon Edward Osborne
Rank: Lieutenant (Junior Grade), Dental Corps
Branch: U.S. Navy
War: World War I
Attached To: 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines
Date of Action: June 6, 1918
Location: Near Bouresches, France
Summary of Action
On 6 June 1918, during the opening attacks around Belleau Wood and the village of Bouresches, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Weedon E. Osborne displayed extraordinary heroism while serving with the 6th Regiment of Marines.
Although a naval dental officer rather than a front-line infantryman, Osborne refused to remain behind as the Marines launched one of the most famous assaults in Corps history.
The advance toward Bouresches was met with devastating German machine-gun and artillery fire that left numerous Marines wounded and stranded in exposed positions.
Without regard for his own safety, Osborne repeatedly entered the deadly fire-swept ground to rescue injured men.
While bullets and shellfire tore across the battlefield, he devoted himself entirely to carrying the wounded from the front lines to places where they could receive treatment and have a chance to survive.
His actions inspired everyone who witnessed them.
During one of these rescue attempts, Osborne was carrying a wounded Marine officer to safety when enemy fire struck him.
He was killed while attempting to save another man's life.
His selfless courage and devotion to duty exemplified the finest traditions of the United States Navy and Marine Corps during one of the defining battles fought by American forces in World War I.
Medal of Honor Citation
OSBORNE, WEEDON E.
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade (Dental Corps), U.S. Navy.
Born: 13 November 1892, Chicago, Ill.
Appointed from: Illinois.
Citation:
For extraordinary heroism while attached to the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, in actual conflict with the enemy and under fire during the advance on Bouresches, France, on 6 June 1918. In the hottest of the fighting when the Marines made their famous advance on Bouresches at the southern edge of Belleau Wood, Lt. (j.g.) Osborne threw himself zealously into the work of rescuing the wounded. Extremely courageous in the performance of this perilous task, he was killed while carrying a wounded officer to a place of safety.
