Brandon

Captain Benjamin L. Salomon was a 28-year-old Army dentist serving as a front-line surgeon on Saipan. On the morning of July 7, 1944, thousands of Japanese troops launched a massive final assault that overran American positions. His aid station sat only about 50 yards behind the front line. Wounded Americans filled the tent. When enemy soldiers broke through and entered the station, Salomon fought them with a rifle, a bayonet, and his bare hands. One wounded American even joined the struggle. He saw the defensive line collapsing. He ordered the medical personnel to evacuate as many wounded as possible. Then he stayed behind. Outside the tent, he found a .30-caliber Browning machine gun whose crew had already been killed. He took their place, positioning himself between the advancing enemy and the wounded men trying to escape. He opened fire and refused to leave his position. Every minute he held bought more time for the wounded to get away. When American forces later recovered the position, they found Salomon dead beside the machine gun. Historical accounts say the bodies of roughly 98 Japanese soldiers lay in front of his position. His body had 76 bullet holes and additional bayonet wounds. A physician who examined him concluded that at least 24 of those wounds had been inflicted while he was still alive. His actions were recommended for the Medal of Honor. Questions about medical personnel taking up arms delayed the award for decades. On May 1, 2002, President George W. Bush finally presented him with the Medal of Honor posthumously. A dentist who went to war to save lives spent his final moments protecting those same lives with a machine gun. He never came home from Saipan. He never lived to see the recognition his country eventually gave him. Seventy-six bullet holes. Ninety-eight enemy soldiers in front of his gun. Fifty-eight years before America awarded him its highest military honor. Captain Benjamin L. Salomon stayed behind so others could escape.