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Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Birth:
2 July 1923, Columbus, Mont. Accredited to: Montana. Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman in an assault platoon
of Company E, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy
Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, from 19 to 21 February 1945.
Quick to press the advantage after 8 Japanese had been driven from a blockhouse
on D-day, Pfc. Ruhl single-handedly attacked the group, killing 1 of the
enemy with his bayonet and another by rifle fire in his determined attempt
to annihilate the escaping troops. Cool and undaunted as the fury of hostile
resistance steadily increased throughout the night, he voluntarily left
the shelter of his tank trap early in the morning of D-day plus 1 and moved
out under a tremendous volume of mortar and machinegun fire to rescue a
wounded marine Iying in an exposed position approximately 40 yards forward
of the line. Half pulling and half carrying the wounded man, he removed
him to a defiladed position, called for an assistant and a stretcher and,
again running the gauntlet of hostile fire, carried the casualty to an
aid station some 300 yards distant on the beach. Returning to his platoon,
he continued his valiant efforts, volunteering to investigate and apparently
abandoned Japanese gun emplacement 75 yards forward of the right flank
during consolidation of the front lines, and subsequently occupying the
position through the night to prevent the enemy from repossessing the valuable
weapon. Pushing forward in the assault against the vast network of fortifications
surrounding Mt. Suribachi the following morning, he crawled with his platoon
guide to the top of a Japanese bunker to bring fire to bear on enemy troops
located on the far side of the bunker. Suddenly a hostile grenade landed
between the 2 marines. Instantly Pfc. Ruhl called a warning to his fellow
marine and dived on the deadly missile, at-sorbing the full impact of the
shattering explosion in his own body and protecting all within range from
the danger of flying fragments although he might easily have dropped from
his position on the edge of the bunker to the ground below. An indomitable
fighter, Pfc. Ruhl rendered heroic service toward the defeat of a ruthless
enemy, and his valor, initiative and unfaltering spirit of self-sacrifice
in the face of almost certain death sustain and enhance the highest traditions
of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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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