Medal of Honor Men
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MORSE, BENJAMIN

Rank and organization: Private, Company C, 3d Michigan Infantry.
Place and date: At Spotsylvania, Va., 12 May 1864.
Entered service at: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Born: 20 September 1844, Livingston, N.Y.
Date of issue: 24 February 1891.

Citation: Capture of colors of 4th Georgia Battery (C.S.A.)



MUNDELL, WALTER L.

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company E, 5th Michigan Infantry.
Place and date: At Sailors Creek, Va., 6 April 1865.
Entered service at: Dallas, Mich.
Born: 1839, Michigan.
Date of issue: 10 May 1865.

Citation: Capture of flag.



McWHORTER, WILLIAM A.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company M, 126th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division.
Place and date: Leyte, Philippine Islands, 5 December 1944.
Entered service at: Liberty, S.C.
Birth: Liberty, S.C.
G.O. No.: 82, 27 September 1945.

Citation: He displayed gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in operations
against the enemy. Pfc. McWhorter, a machine gunner, was emplaced in a defensive position with 1 assistant when the enemy
launched a heavy attack. Manning the gun and opening fire, he killed several members of an advancing demolition squad, when 1
of the enemy succeeded in throwing a fused demolition charge in the entrenchment. Without hesitation and with complete
disregard for his own safety, Pfc. McWhorter picked up the improvised grenade and deliberately held it close to his body, bending
over and turning away from his companion. The charge exploded, killing him instantly, but leaving his assistant unharmed. Pfc.
McWhorter's outstanding heroism and supreme sacrifice in shielding a comrade reflect the highest traditions of the military service.




JOHNSON, LEROY

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 126th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Limon, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 15 December 1944.
Entered service at: Oakdale, La.
Birth: Caney Creek, La.
G.O. No.: 83, 2 October 1945.

Citation: He was squad leader of a 9-man patrol sent to reconnoiter a ridge held by a well-entrenched enemy force. Seeing an
enemy machinegun position, he ordered his men to remain behind while he crawled to within 6 yards of the gun. One of the enemy
crew jumped up and prepared to man the weapon. Quickly withdrawing, Sgt. Johnson rejoined his patrol and reported the situation
to his commanding officer. Ordered to destroy the gun, which covered the approaches to several other enemy positions, he chose 3
other men, armed them with hand grenades, and led them to a point near the objective. After taking partial cover behind a log, the
men had knocked out the gun and begun an assault when hostile troops on the flank hurled several grenades. As he started for
cover, Sgt. Johnson saw 2 unexploded grenades which had fallen near his men. Knowing that his comrades would be wounded or
killed by the explosion, he deliberately threw himself on the grenades and received their full charge in his body. Fatally wounded by
the blast, he died soon afterward. Through his outstanding gallantry in sacrificing his life for his comrades, Sgt. Johnson provided a
shining example of the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.




VLUG, DIRK J.

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 126th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division.
Place and date. Near Limon, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 15 December 1944.
Entered service at: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Birth: Maple Lake, Minn.

G.O. No.: 60, 26 June 1946. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty when an
American roadblock on the Ormoc Road was attacked by a group of enemy tanks. He left his covered position, and with a rocket
launcher and 6 rounds of ammunition, advanced alone under intense machinegun and 37-mm. fire. Loading single-handedly, he
destroyed the first tank, killing its occupants with a single round. As the crew of the second tank started to dismount and attack him,
he killed 1 of the foe with his pistol, forcing the survivors to return to their vehicle, which he then destroyed with a second round.
Three more hostile tanks moved up the road, so he flanked the first and eliminated it, and then, despite a hail of enemy fire,
pressed forward again to destroy another. With his last round of ammunition he struck the remaining vehicle, causing it to crash
down a steep embankment. Through his sustained heroism in the face of superior forces, Pfc. Vlug alone destroyed 5 enemy tanks
and greatly facilitated successful accomplishment of his battalion's mission.


The following men joined the 126th Infantry at Grand Rapids, Michigan
after having earned the Medal of Honor during World War II:



PIERCE, FRANCIS JUNIOR

Rank and organization: Pharmacist's Mate First Class, U.S. Navy serving with 2d Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division.
Place and date: Iwo Jima, 15 and 16 March 1945.
Entered service at Iowa
Born: 7 December 1924, Earlville, Iowa.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while attached to the 2d
Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, during the Iwo Jima campaign, 15 and 16 March 1945. Almost continuously under fire
while carrying out the most dangerous volunteer assignments, Pierce gained valuable knowledge of the terrain and disposition of
troops. Caught in heavy enemy rifle and machinegun fire which wounded a corpsman and 2 of the 8 stretcher bearers who were
carrying 2 wounded marines to a forward aid station on 15 March, Pierce quickly took charge of the party, carried the newly
wounded men to a sheltered position, and rendered first aid. After directing the evacuation of 3 of the casualties, he stood in the
open to draw the enemy's fire and, with his weapon blasting, enabled the litter bearers to reach cover. Turning his attention to the
other 2 casualties he was attempting to stop the profuse bleeding of 1 man when a Japanese fired from a cave less than 20 yards
away and wounded his patient again. Risking his own life to save his patient, Pierce deliberately exposed himself to draw the
attacker from the cave and destroyed him with the last of his ammunition Then lifting the wounded man to his back, he advanced
unarmed through deadly rifle fire across 200 feet of open terrain. Despite exhaustion and in the face of warnings against such a
suicidal mission, he again traversed the same fire-swept path to rescue the remaining marine. On the following morning, he led a
combat patrol to the sniper nest and, while aiding a stricken marine, was seriously wounded. Refusing aid for himself, he directed
treatment for the casualty, at the same time maintaining protective fire for his comrades. Completely fearless, completely devoted to
the care of his patients, Pierce inspired the entire battalion. His valor in the face of extreme peril sustains and enhances the finest
traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.



SJOGREN, JOHN C.

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 160th Infantry, 40th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near San Jose Hacienda, Negros, Philippine Islands, 23 May 1945.
Entered service at: Rockford, Mich.
Birth: Rockford, Mich.
G.O. No.: 97, 1 November 1945.

Citation: He led an attack against a high precipitous ridge defended by a company of enemy riflemen, who were entrenched in
spider holes and supported by well-sealed pillboxes housing automatic weapons with interlocking bands of fire. The terrain was
such that only 1 squad could advance at one time; and from a knoll atop a ridge a pillbox covered the only approach with automatic
fire. Against this enemy stronghold, S/Sgt. Sjogren led the first squad to open the assault. Deploying his men, he moved forward
and was hurling grenades when he saw that his next in command, at the opposite flank, was gravely wounded. Without hesitation
he crossed 20 yards of exposed terrain in the face of enemy fire and exploding dynamite charges, moved the man to cover and
administered first aid. He then worked his way forward and, advancing directly into the enemy fire, killed 8 Japanese in spider holes
guarding the approach to the pillbox. Crawling to within a few feet of the pillbox while his men concentrated their bullets on the fire
port, he began dropping grenades through the narrow firing slit. The enemy immediately threw 2 or 3 of these unexploded
grenades out, and fragments from one wounded him in the hand and back. However, by hurling grenades through the embrasure
faster then the enemy could return them, he succeeded in destroying the occupants. Despite his wounds, he directed his squad to
follow him in a systematic attack on the remaining positions, which he eliminated in like manner, taking tremendous risks,
overcoming bitter resistance, and never hesitating in his relentless advance. To silence one of the pillboxes, he wrenched a light
machinegun out through the embrasure as it was firing before blowing up the occupants with handgrenades. During this action,
S/Sgt. Sjogren, by his heroic bravery, aggressiveness, and skill as a soldier, single-handedly killed 43 enemy soldiers and
destroyed 9 pillboxes, thereby paving the way for his company's successful advance
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