List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
V
Table:
Name	Service	Rank	Place of action	Date of action

Jose F. Valdez †	Army	Private First Class	near Rosenkrantz , France	January 25 , 1945

Junior Van Noy †	Army	Private	near Finschafen , New Guinea	October 17 , 1943

Franklin Van Valkenburgh †	Navy	Captain	Pearl Harbor , Hawaii	December 7 , 1941

Bruce A . Van Voorhis †	Navy	Commander	Greenwich Island , battle of the Solomon Islands	July 6 , 1943

Leon R. Vance , Jr. †	Air Forces	Lieutenant Colonel	over Wimereaux , France	June 5 , 1944

Alexander A. Vandegrift	Marine Corps	Major General	Battle of Guadalcanal , Solomon Islands	August 7 , 1942 - December 9 , 1942

Robert M. Viale †	Army	Second Lieutenant	Manila , Luzon , Philippines	February 5 , 1945

Ysmael R. Villegas †	Army	Staff Sergeant	Villa Verde Trail , Luzon , Philippines	March 20 , 1945

Dirk J. Vlug	Army	Private First Class	near Limon , Leyte , Philippines	December 15 , 1944

Forrest L. Vosler	Air Forces	Technical Sergeant	over Bremen , Germany	December 20 , 1943

From the accompanying table and the supporting text listed below.

Provide an answer to this question: Which man had an earlier date of action ? The man who Posthumously received the Medal of Honor after dying in march of 1945 , or someone who sacrificed himself to protect the soldiers and civilians around him ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.

Private First Class Jose F. Valdez ( January 3 , 1925 - February 17 , 1945 ) was a United States Army soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor - the United States ' highest military decoration - for his actions near Rosenkranz , France , in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket during World War II .
Killed in action ( KIA ) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own combatants at the hands of hostile forces . The United States Department of Defense , for example , says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to hostile attack . KIAs include those killed by friendly fire in the midst of combat , but not from incidents such as accidental vehicle crashes , murder and other non-hostile events or terrorism . KIA can be applied both to front-line combat troops and to naval , air and support troops . Someone who is killed in action during a particular event is denoted with a † ( dagger ) beside their name to signify their death in that event or events . [ citation needed ] Further , KIA denotes a person to have been killed in action on the battlefield whereas died of wounds ( DOW ) relates to someone who survived to reach a medical treatment facility . The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) also uses DWRIA , rather than DOW , for died of wounds received in action . However , historically , militaries and historians have used the former acronym . [ citation needed ] PKIA means presumed killed in action . This term is used when personnel are lost in battle , initially listed missing in action ( MIA ) , but after not being found , are later presumed to have not survived .
The United States Army ( USA ) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces . It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services , and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution . As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence , the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army , which was formed ( 14 June 1775 ) to fight the American Revolutionary War ( 1775-1783 ) - before the United States of America was established as a country . After the Revolutionary War , the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army . The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army , and considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775 . As a uniformed military service , the U.S. Army is part of the Department of the Army , which is one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense . The U.S. Army is headed by a civilian senior appointed civil servant , the secretary of the Army ( SECARMY ) and by a chief military officer , the chief of staff of the Army ( CSA ) who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . It is the largest military branch , and in the fiscal year 2017 , the projected end strength for the Regular Army ( USA ) was 476,000 soldiers ; the Army National Guard ( ARNG ) had 343,000 soldiers and the U.S. Army Reserve ( USAR ) had 199,000 soldiers ; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army was 1,018,000 soldiers . As a branch of the armed forces , the mission of the U.S. Army is to fight and win our Nation 's wars , by providing prompt , sustained land dominance , across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict , in support of combatant commanders . The branch participates in conflicts worldwide and is the major ground-based offensive and defensive force of the United States .
Private First Class ( PFC ) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in some countries ' armed forces .
France ( French : [ fʁɑ̃s ] ( listen ) ) , officially the French Republic ( French : République française , pronounced [ ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz ] ( listen ) ) , is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . [ XIII ] The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . It is bordered by Belgium , Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast , Switzerland and Italy to the east , and Andorra and Spain to the south . The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . The country 's 18 integral regions ( five of which are situated overseas ) span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres ( 248,573 sq mi ) and a total population of 67.02 million ( as of July 2019 [ update ] ) . France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban areas include Lyon , Marseille , Toulouse , Bordeaux , Lille and Nice . France , including its overseas territories , has the most number of time zones of any country , with a total of 12 . During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . Rome annexed the area in 51 BC , holding it until the arrival of Germanic Franks in 476 , who formed the Kingdom of Francia . The Treaty of Verdun of 843 partitioned Francia into East Francia , Middle Francia and West Francia . West Francia , which became the Kingdom of France in 987 , emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , following its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337-1453 ) .
Junior N. Van Noy ( 9 August 1924 - 17 October 1943 ) 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 . His birthname was Nathan Kilby Van Noy Jr .
A private is a soldier of the lowest military rank ( equivalent to NATO Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in ) . In modern military writing , private is abridged to Pte in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth of Nations countries and to Pvt in the United States .
Franklin Van Valkenburgh ( April 5 , 1888 - December 7 , 1941 ) was an American naval officer who served as the last captain of the USS Arizona ( BB-39 ) . He was killed when the Arizona exploded and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor .
The United States Navy ( USN ) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States . It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone , it is larger than the next 13 navies combined , which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations . It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world 's largest aircraft carrier fleet , with eleven in service , two new carriers under construction , and five other carriers planned . With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve , the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of personnel . It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of June 2019 [ update ] , making it the third-largest air force in the world , after the United States Air Force and the United States Army . The U.S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy , which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter . After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the hands of the Barbary pirates from Algiers , the U.S. Congress passed the Naval Act of 1794 for the construction of six heavy frigates , the first ships of the U.S. Navy . The U.S. Navy played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers . It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan . The U.S. Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world . The 21st century U.S. Navy maintains a sizable global presence , deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific , the Mediterranean , and the Indian Ocean . It is a blue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world , engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises , making it a frequent actor in U.S. foreign and military policy .
In the United States Navy , United States Coast Guard , United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps ( USPHS ) , and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps ( NOAA Corps ) , captain is the senior-most commissioned officer rank below that of flag officer ( i.e. , admirals ) . The equivalent rank is colonel in the United States Army , Air Force , and Marine Corps . Reflecting its nautical heritage , the term captain is sometimes used as a military title by more junior officers who command a commissioned vessel of the Navy , Coast Guard , or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship of patrol boat size or greater . Officers below O-6 who command aviation squadrons ( typically O-5 commanders ) usually use the less formal title skipper .
Bruce Avery Van Voorhis ( January 29 , 1908 - July 6 , 1943 ) was a United States Navy aviator who was shot down in the Pacific theater during World War II . For his action on July 6 , 1943 , he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor .
In the United States , commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military billet title - the designation of someone who manages living quarters or a base - depending on the branch of service . It is also used as a rank or title in non-military organizations ; particularly in law enforcement .
Leon Robert Bob Vance Jr. ( August 11 , 1916 - July 26 , 1944 ) was a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II .
The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF or AAF ) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army , and de facto aerial warfare service branch of the United States , during and immediately after World War II ( 1939/41-1945 ) , successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps , and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force of today , one of the five uniformed military services . The AAF was a component of the United States Army , which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces : the Army Ground Forces , the Services of Supply ( which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces ) , and the Army Air Forces . Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff . The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed among the Air Corps , General Headquarters Air Force , and the ground forces ' corps area commanders , and thus became the first air organization of the U.S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel . The peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944 , and 783 domestic bases in December 1943 . By V-E Day , the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas and operated from more than 1,600 airfields worldwide . The Army Air Forces was created in June 1941 to provide the air arm a greater autonomy in which to expand more efficiently , to provide a structure for the additional command echelons required by a vastly increased force , and to end an increasingly divisive administrative battle within the Army over control of aviation doctrine and organization that had been ongoing since the creation of an aviation section within the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914 . The AAF succeeded both the Air Corps , which had been the statutory military aviation branch since 1926 , and the GHQ Air Force , which had been activated in 1935 to quiet the demands of airmen for an independent Air Force similar to the Royal Air Force which had already been established in the United Kingdom . Although other nations already had separate air forces independent of their army or navy ( such as the British Royal Air Force and the German Luftwaffe ) , the AAF remained a part of the Army until a defense reorganization in the post-war period resulted in the passage by the United States Congress of the National Security Act of 1947 with the creation of an independent United States Air Force in September 1947 . In its expansion and conduct of the war , the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization . By the end of World War II , the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service . By regulation and executive order , it was a subordinate agency of the United States Department of War ( as were the Army Ground Forces and the Army Service Forces ) tasked only with organizing , training , and equipping combat units , and limited in responsibility to the continental United States .
In the United States Army , U.S. Marine Corps , and U.S. Air Force , lieutenant colonel is a field-grade military officer rank , just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel . It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services . The pay grade for the rank of lieutenant colonel is O-5 . In the United States armed forces , the insignia for the rank are a silver oak leaf , with slight stylized differences between the version of the Army and the Air Force and that of the Navy and the Marine Corps . Promotion to lieutenant colonel is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act ( DOPMA ) of 1980 , for officers in the Active Component , and its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act ( ROPMA ) , for officers in the Reserve Component ( e.g. , Reserve and National Guard ) . DOPMA guidelines suggest that 70 percent of majors be promoted to lieutenant colonel after serving at least three years at their present rank and after 15-17 years of cumulative commissioned service .
General Alexander Archer Vandegrift , USMC ( March 13 , 1887 - May 8 , 1973 ) was a United States Marine Corps four-star general . During World War II , he commanded the 1st Marine Division to victory in its first ground offensive of the war , the Battle of Guadalcanal . For his actions on August 7 to December 9 , 1942 , in the Solomon Islands campaign , he received the Medal of Honor . Vandegrift later served as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps . He was the first four-star general on active duty in the Marine Corps .
The United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) , also referred to as the United States Marines , is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations with the United States Navy as well as the Army and Air Force . The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States . The Marine Corps has been a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 , working closely with naval forces . The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world . Additionally , several of the Marines ' tactical aviation squadrons , primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons , are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers . The history of the Marine Corps began when two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting both at sea and on shore . In the Pacific theater of World War II the Corps took the lead in a massive campaign of amphibious warfare , advancing from island to island . As of 2017 , the USMC has around 186,000 active duty members and some 38,500 personnel in reserve .
In the United States Army , United States Marine Corps , and United States Air Force , major general is a two-star general officer rank , with the pay grade of O-8 . Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general . [ Note 1 ] A major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers . Major general is equivalent to the two-star rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard , and is the highest permanent peacetime rank in the uniformed services . Higher ranks are technically temporary and linked to specific positions , although virtually all officers promoted to those ranks are approved to retire at their highest earned rank .
The Guadalcanal campaign , also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces , was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II . It was the first major land offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan . On 7 August 1942 , Allied forces , predominantly United States Marines , landed on Guadalcanal , Tulagi , and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands , with the objective of using Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain . The Japanese defenders , who had occupied those islands since May 1942 , were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies , who captured Tulagi and Florida , as well as the airfield - later named Henderson Field - that was under construction on Guadalcanal . Surprised by the Allied offensive , the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field . Three major land battles , seven large naval battles ( five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles ) , and almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November , with the defeat of the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and to land enough troops to retake it . In December , the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal , and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943 , in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army 's XIV Corps . The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic Allied combined-arms victory in the Pacific theater . While the Battle of Midway was a heavy defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy , it did not stop Japanese offensives , which continued both at sea and on the ground . The victories at Milne Bay , Buna-Gona , and Guadalcanal marked the Allied transition from defensive operations to taking the strategic initiative in the theater , leading to offensive campaigns in the Solomon Islands , New Guinea , and the Central Pacific , which resulted in the surrender of Japan , ending World War II .
Robert M. Viale ( April 21 , 1916 - February 5 , 1945 ) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military 's highest decoration - the Medal of Honor - for his actions in World War II . Viale joined the Army from Ukiah , California in March 1941 , and by February 5 , 1945 was serving as a second lieutenant in Company K , 148th Infantry Regiment , 37th Infantry Division . On that day , during combat in Manila , capital of the Philippines , Viale smothered the blast of an accidentally dropped hand grenade with his body , sacrificing himself to protect the soldiers and civilians around him . For his actions , he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor eight months later , on October 25 , 1945 . Viale , aged 28 at his death , was buried in Ocean View Cemetery , Eureka , California .
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces , comparable to NATO OF-1a rank .
Staff Sergeant Ysmael R. Villegas ( March 21 , 1924 - March 20 , 1945 ) , was a United States Army soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor - the United States ' highest military decoration for his actions during World War II .
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of several countries . It is also a police rank in some police services .
Dirk John Vlug ( August 20 , 1916 - June 25 , 1996 ) 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 .
Forrest Lee Vosler , ( July 29 , 1923 - February 17 , 1992 ) was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress radio operator who was the second enlisted U.S. airman to receive the Medal of Honor . He also received the Air Medal and Purple Heart .
Technical sergeant is the name of one current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces . [ citation needed ] Outside the United States , it is used only by the Philippine Army , Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Marine Corps .