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| Pvt. Joseph Ozbourn earned the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Tinian. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7731685/joseph-william-ozbourn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tinian |
Joseph W. Ozbourn never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on October 24, 1919 in Herrin, Illinois. His parents Thomas and Eva were also both born in Illinois. He married Helen Bernice Mecham in December 1939. He worked as a mine trip rider.
Joseph volunteered for the US Marine Corps on October 30, 1943. He became a private in the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division. The 4th MD was sent to the Pacific in January 1944. It played important rolls at Kwajalein and Saipan. It appears that Pvt. Ozbourn joined his unit as a replacement after that time.
The next assignment for the 4th MD was to take the island of Tinian. This was a nine day battle where more than 40,000 marines and infantrymen landed on the island on July 24, 1944. It was defended by 8,000 Japanese soldiers.
The victory at Tinian cost 326 American lives, including Pvt. Ozbourn who was killed on July 30, 1944 while saving the lives of others in his unit. His actions resulted in a posthumous Medal of Honor.
His citation reads as follows:
As a member of a platoon assigned the mission of clearing the remaining Japanese troops from dugouts and pillboxes along a tree line, Private Ozbourn, flanked by two men on either side, was moving forward to throw an armed hand grenade into a dugout when a terrific blast from the entrance severely wounded the four men and himself.
Unable to throw the grenade into the dugout and with no place to hurl it without endangering the other men, Private Ozbourn unhesitatingly grasped it close to his body and fell upon it, sacrificing his own life to absorb the full impact of the explosion but saving his comrades.
His great personal valor and unwavering loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Private Ozbourn and the United States Naval service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Thank you Pvt. Ozbourn for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Joseph.
Last year on this date I profiled Distinguished Service Cross hero of the Battle of Midway and B-26 co-pilot Garrett McCallister. You can read about Garrett here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
His grave is at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Honolulu, Hawaii. I don't know what happened to his widow.
The US Navy named the destroyer USS Ozbourn in his honor in 1945.
Last year on this date I profiled Distinguished Service Cross hero of the Battle of Midway and B-26 co-pilot Garrett McCallister. You can read about Garrett here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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