MARTIN, HARRY LINN - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Birth: 4 January 1911, Bucyrus, Ohio.
Appointed From:
Ohio. Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty as platoon leader attached to Company C, 5th Pioneer
Battalion, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces
on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 26 March 1945. With his sector of the 5th
Pioneer Battalion bivouac area penetrated by a concentrated enemy attack
launched a few minutes before dawn, 1st Lt. Martin instantly organized
a firing line with the marines nearest his foxhole and succeeded in checking
momentarily the headlong rush of the Japanese. Determined to rescue several
of his men trapped in positions overrun by the enemy, he defied intense
hostile fire to work his way through the Japanese to the surrounded marines.
Although sustaining 2 severe wounds, he blasted the Japanese who attempted
to intercept him, located his beleaguered men and directed them to their
own lines. When 4 of the infiltrating enemy took possession of an abandoned
machinegun pit and subjected his sector to a barrage of hand grenades,
1st Lt. Martin, alone and armed only with a pistol, boldly charged the
hostile position and killed all of its occupants. Realizing that his few
remaining comrades could not repulse another organized attack, he called
to his men to follow and then charged into the midst of the strong enemy
force, firing his weapon and scattering them until he fell, mortally wounded
by a grenade. By his outstanding valor, indomitable fighting spirit and
tenacious determination in the face of overwhelming odds, 1st Lt. Martin
permanently disrupted a coordinated Japanese attack and prevented a greater
loss of life in his own and adjacent platoons. His inspiring leadership
and unswerving devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon himself
and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of
his country.
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