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Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 306th
Infantry, 77th Infantry Division. Place and date: Leyte, Philippine Islands,
21 December 1944. Entered service at: Carney's Point, N.J. Birth: Philadelphia,
Pa. G.O. No.: 49, 28 June 1945. Citation: He was a radio operator, advancing
in the rear of his company as it engaged a well-defended Japanese strong
point holding up the progress of the entire battalion. When a rifle platoon
supporting a light tank hesitated in its advance, he voluntarily and with
utter disregard for personal safety left his comparatively secure position
and ran across bullet-whipped terrain to the tank, waving and shouting
to the men of the platoon to follow. Carrying his bulky radio and armed
only with a pistol, he fearlessly penetrated intense machinegun and rifle
fire to the enemy position, where he killed 1 of the enemy in a foxhole
and moved on to annihilate the crew of a light machinegun. Heedless of
the terrific fire now concentrated on him, he continued to spearhead the
assault, killing 2 more of the enemy and exhorting the other men to advance,
until he fell mortally wounded. After being evacuated to an aid station,
his first thought was still of the American advance. Overcoming great pain
he called for the battalion operations officer to report the location of
enemy weapons and valuable tactical information he had secured in his heroic
charge. The unwavering courage, the unswerving devotion to the task at
hand, the aggressive leadership of Pfc. Benjamin were a source of great
and lasting inspiration to his comrades and were to a great extent responsible
for the success of the battalion's mission.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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