Memorial service for MOH recipient Marine First Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr

Memorial Service for  Marine First Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr. in Knoxville, TN (Knoxnews.com)

Marine First Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr., awarded the Medal of Honor after he was killed on Nov. 22, 1943 in the Battle of Tarawa was finally laid to rest after 72 years. Hundreds of  Knoxville, Tennessee residents gathered for a memorial service at the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in World's Fair Park on Saturday September 26, 2015.

Bonnyman’s remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Honolulu and were sent to Knoxville, Tenn., for burial. He was one of 36 Marines recovered earlier this year from Tarawa’s Betio Island in the Pacific Ocean.

A combat engineer, he received the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars and the World War II Victory Medal posthumously for his actions during the strategically important assault on a Japanese bombproof shelter during the Battle of Tarawa.

“On the second day of the struggle, Bonnyman, determined to effect an opening in the enemy's strongly defended defense line, led his demolitions teams in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained approximately 150 Japanese soldiers. The enemy position was about forty yards forward of the Marine lines. Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position and killed many of the defenders. His team was forced to withdraw to replenish its supply of ammunition and grenades. Bonnyman again pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure, thereby flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were shot down. When the Japanese fought back, the lieutenant stood at the forward edge of the position and killed several attackers before he fell mortally wounded. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day.

For his actions during the battle, Bonnyman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The medal was formally presented to his family by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal in 1947. His 12-year-old daughter, Frances, accepted the medal on behalf of the Bonnyman family.

Suggested articles:

Remains of 36 Marines killed on Tarawa during World War II Found Medal of Honor Recipient Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman remembered at East Tennessee War Memorial

Memorial service honors local World War II Medal of Honor paratrooper Army Pvt. John Towle

Army Pvt. John Towle

Army Pvt. John Towle was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

He joined the army in March 1943, becoming a member of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 82nd Airborne Division and served in North Africa, Italy, and the European Theater of Operations. Pvt. Towle single-handedly defeated a tank-supported German infantry counter attack at Osterhout, Holland 21 Sept. 1944, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was 19 years old.

Major General C. L. Scott presented the Medal to Towle's parents at a ceremony at Ft. Knox, Ky. in March 1945, and his body was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland 23 Jan. 1949; Major General James A. Gavin, wartime commander of the 82nd Airborne spoke at the internment.

Private Towle's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on 21 September 1944, near Oosterhout, Holland. The rifle company in which Pvt. Towle served as rocket launcher gunner was occupying a defensive position in the west sector of the recently established Nijmegen bridgehead when a strong enemy force of approximately 100 infantry supported by 2 tanks and a half-track formed for a counterattack. With full knowledge of the disastrous consequences resulting not only to his company but to the entire bridgehead by an enemy breakthrough, Pvt. Towle immediately and without orders left his foxhole and moved 200 yards in the face of intense small-arms fire to a position on an exposed dike roadbed. From this precarious position Pvt. Towle fired his rocket launcher at and hit both tanks to his immediate front. Armored skirting on both tanks prevented penetration by the projectiles, but both vehicles withdrew slightly damaged. Still under intense fire and fully exposed to the enemy, Pvt. Towle then engaged a nearby house which 9 Germans had entered and were using as a strongpoint and with 1 round killed all 9. Hurriedly replenishing his supply of ammunition, Pvt. Towle, motivated only by his high conception of duty which called for the destruction of the enemy at any cost, then rushed approximately 125 yards through grazing enemy fire to an exposed position from which he could engage the enemy half-track with his rocket launcher. While in a kneeling position preparatory to firing on the enemy vehicle, Pvt. Towle was mortally wounded by a mortar shell. By his heroic tenacity, at the price of his life, Pvt. Towle saved the lives of many of his comrades and was directly instrumental in breaking up the enemy counterattack.

In an article by Brian Albrecht, Memorial service honors local World War II Medal of Honor paratrooper

On Saturday, at 10 a.m., that courage will again be remembered with a special memorial ceremony at Towle's grave in Calvary Cemetery, 10000 Miles Avenue, in Cleveland.

Towle's nephew, Tom Ryan, 58, of Euclid, said the event is part of the All Ohio Airborne Days, Oct. 1-3 in Cleveland, when airborne association members from across Ohio and other states will gather here. Towle is an honorary member of the local John Towle Medal of Honor Cleveland Chapter of 82nd Airborne Association.

The president of the national 82nd Airborne association will be among the guests at the ceremony that will include presentation of colors, laying a wreath at the Army paratrooper's grave, a rifle salute and taps.

New York Times acknowledges Medal of Honor News in obituary for Einar H. Ingman, Jr.

"MedalOfHonorNews.com" is prominently mentioned in the NY Times obit of one of the great heroes of the Korean War, Einar H. Ingman, Jr.

(Link to NY Times article) 

Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient Einar H. Ingman, Jr. Dies at 85

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announces that Staff Sergeant Einar H. Ingman, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Wednesday, September 9, 2015, in Irma, Wisconsin at the age of 85.

Staff Sergeant Ingman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 6, 1929.

Einar H. Ingman Jr.

Ingman grew up on a nearby farm and joined the Army hoping to learn heavy equipment, but was assigned to the infantry. His heroic action occurred near Maltari, Korea, on February 26, 2025 when he was a corporal with the Seventh Infantry Division in Korea and his unit was tasked with attacking an enemy position. When the squad leaders were wounded, Ingman combined the two units and led the assault. He destroyed one of the machine gun nests and was advancing on the other when shot in the face. He unflinchingly continued his assault on the second nest killing the enemy soldiers with his bayonet before losing consciousness. It inspired his men to press the attack until the enemy broke into a disorganized retreat.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman at a White House ceremony on July 5, 1951.


MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION  STAFF SERGEANT EINAR H. INGMAN, JR.

Sgt. Ingman, a member of Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. The 2 leading squads of the assault platoon of his company, while attacking a strongly fortified ridge held by the enemy, were pinned down by withering fire and both squad leaders and several men were wounded. Cpl. Ingman assumed command, reorganized and combined the 2 squads, then moved from 1 position to another, designating fields of fire and giving advice and encouragement to the men. Locating an enemy machine gun position that was raking his men with devastating fire he charged it alone, threw a grenade into the position, and killed the remaining crew with rifle fire. Another enemy machine gun opened fire approximately 15 yards away and inflicted additional casualties to the group and stopped the attack. When Cpl. Ingman charged the second position he was hit by grenade fragments and a hail of fire which seriously wounded him about the face and neck and knocked him to the ground. With incredible courage and stamina, he arose instantly and, using only his rifle, killed the entire guncrew before falling unconscious from his wounds. As a result of the singular action by Cpl. Ingman the defense of the enemy was broken, his squad secured its objective, and more than 100 hostile troops abandoned their weapons and fled in disorganized retreat. Cpl. Ingman's indomitable courage, extraordinary heroism, and superb leadership reflect the highest credit on himself and are in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the infantry and the U.S. Army.