thedrifter
11-09-04, 07:25 AM
11-03-2004
MOH Recipient: Sorenson, Richard K. Pfc. USMC
Organization: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 4th Marine Division.
Place and date: Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll Marshall Islands, 1 -2 February 1944.
Entered service at: Minnesota. Born: 28 August 1924, Anoka, Minn.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with an assault battalion attached to the 4th Marine Division during the battle of Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, on 1-2 February 1944.
Putting up a brave defense against a particularly violent counterattack by the enemy during invasion operations, Pvt. Sorenson and five other Marines occupying a shell hole were endangered by a Japanese grenade thrown into their midst.
Unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his own safety, Pvt. Sorenson hurled himself upon the deadly weapon, heroically taking the full impact of the explosion. As a result of his gallant action, he was severely wounded, but the lives of his comrades were saved.
His great personal valor and exceptional spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Editor’s Note: After recovering from his wounds, Sorenson was discharged from the Marine Corps as a sergeant in 1946. Enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve the following year, he was recalled to active duty in 1950 (later transferring to the regular Marine Corps), and rose to the rank of master sergeant before he was appointed a temporary 2nd lieutenant on Oct. 16,1953. The following year, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant, but in 1955 he voluntarily reverted to the rank of master sergeant in order to be discharged once more.
In addition to the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart Medal he received for the wounds he suffered at Kwajalein, Sorenson received the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with one bronze star; the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one bronze star; the American Area Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Sorenson joined the Veterans Administration, later serving as VA regional director in Reno, Nev., from 1978 until his retirement in 1985. He died at the age of 80 on Oct. 9, 2004. He is survived by his wife, five children and seven grandchildren.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=679&rnd=592.6353985658219
Ellie
MOH Recipient: Sorenson, Richard K. Pfc. USMC
Organization: U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 4th Marine Division.
Place and date: Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll Marshall Islands, 1 -2 February 1944.
Entered service at: Minnesota. Born: 28 August 1924, Anoka, Minn.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with an assault battalion attached to the 4th Marine Division during the battle of Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, on 1-2 February 1944.
Putting up a brave defense against a particularly violent counterattack by the enemy during invasion operations, Pvt. Sorenson and five other Marines occupying a shell hole were endangered by a Japanese grenade thrown into their midst.
Unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his own safety, Pvt. Sorenson hurled himself upon the deadly weapon, heroically taking the full impact of the explosion. As a result of his gallant action, he was severely wounded, but the lives of his comrades were saved.
His great personal valor and exceptional spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Editor’s Note: After recovering from his wounds, Sorenson was discharged from the Marine Corps as a sergeant in 1946. Enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserve the following year, he was recalled to active duty in 1950 (later transferring to the regular Marine Corps), and rose to the rank of master sergeant before he was appointed a temporary 2nd lieutenant on Oct. 16,1953. The following year, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant, but in 1955 he voluntarily reverted to the rank of master sergeant in order to be discharged once more.
In addition to the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart Medal he received for the wounds he suffered at Kwajalein, Sorenson received the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with one bronze star; the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with one bronze star; the American Area Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Sorenson joined the Veterans Administration, later serving as VA regional director in Reno, Nev., from 1978 until his retirement in 1985. He died at the age of 80 on Oct. 9, 2004. He is survived by his wife, five children and seven grandchildren.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=679&rnd=592.6353985658219
Ellie