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

Mitchell Paige

Marine Corps

Platoon Sergeant

Battle of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

October 26, 1942

John J. Parle †

Navy

Ensign

aboard a landing ship, USS LST 375, off Sicily

July 9, 1943 – July 10, 1943

Laverne Parrish †

Army

Technician Fourth Grade

Binalonan, Luzon, Philippines

January 18, 1945 – January 24, 1945

—

Harl Pease, Jr. †

Air Forces

Captain

near Rabaul, New Britain

August 6, 1942 – August 7, 1942

—

Forrest E. Peden †

Army

Technician Fifth Grade

near Biesheim, France

February 3, 1945

—

Jack J. Pendleton †

Army

Staff Sergeant

Bardenberg, Germany

October 12, 1944

Frank D. Peregory †

Army

Technical Sergeant

Grandcampe, France

June 8, 1944

Manuel Perez, Jr. †

Army

Private First Class

Fort William McKinley, Luzon, Philippines

February 13, 1945

—

George J. Peters †

Army

Private

near Fluren, Germany

March 24, 1945

—

George Peterson †

Army

Staff Sergeant

near Eisern, Germany

March 30, 1945

Oscar V. Peterson †

Navy

Chief Watertender

USS Neosho, Battle of the Coral Sea

May 7, 1942

Frank J. Petrarca †

Army

Private First Class

Horseshoe Hill, New Georgia, Solomon Islands

July 27, 1943

—

Jackson C. Pharris

Navy

Gunner

Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii

December 7, 1941

—

Wesley Phelps †

Marine Corps

Private First Class

Battle of Peleliu, Palau Islands

October 4, 1944

George Phillips †

Marine Corps

Private

Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands

March 14, 1945

Francis J. Pierce

Navy

Pharmacist's Mate First class

Iwo Jima

March 15, 1945 – March 16, 1945

John J. Pinder, Jr. †

Army

Technician Fifth Grade

near Colleville-sur-Mer, France

June 6, 1944

Everett P. Pope

Marine Corps

Captain

Peleliu Island, Palau group

September 19, 1944 – September 20, 1944

John V. Power †

Marine Corps

First Lieutenant

Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands

February 1, 1944

John J. Powers †

Navy

Lieutenant

over the Coral Sea and adjacent waters

May 4, 1942 – May 8, 1942

Based on the tabular data along with the passages listed at the end.

Respond to the question below: Where was the soldier who was decorated for his action on February 13 , 1945 born ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

Colonel Mitchell Paige ( Serbian : Михајло Пејић , Mihajlo Pejić ) ( August 31 , 1918 - November 15 , 2003 ) was a United States Marine and a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II . He received this , the highest military honor awarded by the United States of America , for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on October 26 , 1942 , where , after all of the other Marines in his platoon were killed or wounded , he operated four machine guns , singlehandedly stopping an entire Japanese regiment .
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 many militaries , a platoon sergeant is the senior enlisted member of a platoon , who advises and supports the platoon 's commanding officer in leading the unit .
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 .
John Joseph Parle ( May 26 , 1920 - July 10 , 1943 ) was a United States Naval Reserve officer and a recipient of the United States military 's highest decoration - the Medal of Honor - for his actions in World War II . Parle was a 1942 ROTC graduate of Creighton University in Omaha , Nebraska . On July 9 , 1943 , Parle was serving as an ensign and was involved in the preparations for the Allied invasion of Sicily . On that day , he noticed a fire aboard a small boat loaded with explosives and ammunition . Knowing that an explosion would alert the defenders on Sicily of the impending invasion , he rushed to put out the fire . Although successful in dousing the flames , he later died of smoke inhalation . Parle , aged 23 at his death , was buried at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in his birth city of Omaha , Nebraska .
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 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 .
Ensign ( /ˈɛnsən/ ; Late Middle English , from Old French enseigne ( 12c . ) mark , symbol , signal ; flag , standard , pennant , from Latin insignia ( plural ) ) is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries , normally in the infantry or navy . As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag , the rank acquired the name . This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant . Ensigns were generally the lowest ranking commissioned officer , except where the rank of subaltern existed . In contrast , the Arab rank of ensign , لواء , liwa ' , derives from the command of units with an ensign , not the carrier of such a unit 's ensign , and is today the equivalent of a major general . In Thomas Venn 's 1672 Military and Maritime Discipline in Three Books , the duties of ensigns are to include not only carrying the colour but assisting the captain and lieutenant of a company and in their absence , have their authority . Ensign is enseigne in French , and chorąży in Polish , each of which derives from a term for a flag . The Spanish alférez and Portuguese alferes is a junior officer rank below lieutenant associated with carrying the flag , and so is often translated as ensign . Unlike the rank in other languages , its etymology has nothing to do with flags , but instead comes from the Arabic for cavalier or knight . Fähnrich in German comes from an older German military title , Fahnenträger ( flag bearer ) ; however , it is an officer cadet rank , not a junior officer - the same applies to the Dutch vaandrig , which has a parallel etymology . In the German Landsknecht armies ( c. 1480 ) , the equivalent rank of cornet existed for those men who carried the troop standard ( known as a cornet ) .
Laverne Parrish ( July 16 , 1918 - January 24 , 1945 ) 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 .
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 .
Technician Fourth Grade ( abbreviated as T/4 or TEC4 ) was one of three United States Army technician ranks established on January 8 , 1942 , during World War II . Those who held this rank were often addressed as Sergeant . Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a higher pay grade . These skills could be directly related to combat , such as those skills possessed by a tank driver or combat engineer , or skills possessed by those in support functions such as cooks or mechanics . Depending on his or her function , he or she might be called upon by an officer to command a group of men for a specific task . They were non-commissioned officers , as were sergeants . Initially , they shared the same insignia but on September 4 , 1942 , the three technician ranks were distinguished by a block T imprinted below the standard chevrons . Unofficial insignia using a technical specialty symbol instead of the T was used in some units .
Harl Pease , Jr. , ( April 10 , 1917 - October 8 , 1942 ) was a United States Army Air Corps officer and a recipient of the United States military 's highest award , the Medal of Honor , for his actions during World War II . He was the namesake for Pease Air Force Base , now Pease Air National Guard Base .
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 ( USA ) , U.S. Marine Corps ( USMC ) , and U.S. Air Force ( USAF ) , captain ( abbreviated CPT in the USA and Capt in the USMC and USAF ) is a company grade officer rank , with the pay grade of O-3 . It ranks above first lieutenant and below major . It is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the Navy/Coast Guard officer rank system . The insignia for the rank consists of two silver bars , with slight stylized differences between the Army/Air Force version and the Marine Corps version .
Forrest E. Peden ( October 3 , 1913 - February 3 , 1945 ) 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 .
Technician fifth grade ( abbreviated as T/5 or TEC 5 ) was a United States Army technician rank during World War II . Those who held this rank were addressed as corporal , though were often called a tech corporal . Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a higher pay grade . The pay grade number corresponded with the technician 's rank . T/5 was under the pay grade 5 , along with corporal . Technicians were easily distinguished by the T imprinted on the standard chevron design for that pay grade . The technician ranks were removed from the U.S. Army rank system in 1948 , though the concept was brought back with the Specialist ranks in 1955 .
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 ) .
Jack James Pendleton ( March 31 , 1918 - October 12 , 1944 ) 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 .
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 .
Frank D. Peregory was a United States Army technical sergeant who posthumously received the United States military 's highest decoration for bravery in combat , the Medal of Honor , for his actions during World War II . In a previous incident , he also received the Soldier 's Medal for rescuing another soldier from drowning . Peregory grew up in a large family in Virginia and although he was only 15 years old , in 1931 he lied about his age in order to join the Virginia Army National Guard . When the United States entered World War II in December 1941 his unit was activated and while guarding a beach Peregory received the Soldier 's Medal for saving a fellow soldier from drowning . When the unit arrived for combat overseas they were assigned to the D-Day invasion of Normandy and Peregory again risked his life by single-handedly attacking a fortified German machine-gun emplacement , killing several and taking more than 30 prisoners . For his actions during the battle he later received the Medal of Honor . The Medal was presented posthumously , however , because on June 14 , 1944 , six days after the action for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor , he was killed .
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 .
Private First Class Manuel Pérez Jr. ( March 3 , 1923 - March 14 , 1945 ) born in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , was a United States Army soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor , the United States ' highest military decoration , for his actions in Battle of Luzon during the Philippines campaign of World War II .
Private First Class ( PFC ) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in some countries ' armed forces .
George J. Peters ( 1924 - March 24 , 1945 ) was a soldier of the United States Army and a recipient of the highest decoration of the United States Armed Forces - the Medal of Honor - for his actions in the final stages of World War II during Operation Varsity .
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 .
George Peterson ( died March 30 , 1945 ) 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 .
Oscar Verner Peterson ( August 27 , 1899 - May 13 , 1942 ) was a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor posthumously in World War II for his actions during the Battle of the Coral Sea .
Chief petty officer ( CPO ) is the seventh enlisted rate ( with the paygrade E-7 ) in the United States Navy and U.S. Coast Guard , just above petty officer first class and below senior chief petty officer . The grade of chief petty officer was established on 1 April 1893 for the United States Navy . The United States Congress first authorized the Coast Guard to use the promotion to chief petty officer on 18 May 1920 . Chief petty officer is also the final cadet grade in the U.S . Naval Sea Cadet Corps . Prior to 1958 , chief petty officer was the highest enlisted grade in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard . This changed on 20 May 1958 with the passage Pub.L . 85-422 , the Military Pay Act of 1958 , which established two new pay grades of E-8 and E-9 in all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces . In the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard , the new E-8 paygrade was called senior chief petty officer ( SCPO ) and the new E-9 paygrade master chief petty officer ( MCPO ) , with the first selectees promoting to their respective grades in 1959 and 1960 . Prior to establishment of the E-8 and E-9 grades , chief petty officers could typically serve in uniform for 30 or more years . Shortly following establishment of the E-8 and E-9 grades , service limits currently known as high year tenure ( HYT ) were established by pay grade . Although these limits periodically flex based on Fleet manpower requirements , current HYT limits restrict chief petty officers not selected for promotion to senior chief petty officer to 24 years of service , after which they face mandatory retirement .
A fireman , stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler , heating a building , or powering a steam engine . Much of the job is hard physical labor , such as shoveling fuel , typically coal , into the boiler 's firebox . On steam locomotives the title fireman is usually used , while on steamships and stationary steam engines , such as those driving saw mills , the title is usually stoker ( although the British Merchant Navy did use fireman ) . The German word Heizer is equivalent and in Dutch the word stoker is mostly used too . The United States Navy referred to them as watertenders .
USS Neosho ( AO-23 ) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler serving with the United States Navy , the second ship to be named for the Neosho River in Kansas and Oklahoma . After surviving the Attack on Pearl Harbor , Neosho operated in the South Pacific . During the Battle of the Coral Sea she was attacked and set alight , but managed to keep afloat until rendezvousing with an American destroyer on 11 May 1942 , who sank her with gunfire after taking off the crew .
The Battle of the Coral Sea , fought from 4-8 May 1942 , was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia , taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II . The battle is historically significant as the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other , as well as the first in which the opposing ships neither sighted nor fired directly upon one another . In an attempt to strengthen their defensive position in the South Pacific , the Japanese decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby ( in New Guinea ) and Tulagi ( in the southeastern Solomon Islands ) . The plan to accomplish this was called Operation Mo , and involved several major units of Japan 's Combined Fleet . These included two fleet carriers and a light carrier to provide air cover for the invasion forces . It was under the overall command of Japanese Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue . The U.S. learned of the Japanese plan through signals intelligence , and sent two United States Navy carrier task forces and a joint Australian-U.S. cruiser force to oppose the offensive . These were under the overall command of U.S. Admiral Frank J. Fletcher . On 3-4 May , Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi , although several of their supporting warships were sunk or damaged in surprise attacks by aircraft from the U.S. fleet carrier Yorktown . Now aware of the presence of U.S. carriers in the area , the Japanese fleet carriers advanced towards the Coral Sea with the intention of locating and destroying the Allied naval forces . On the evening of 6 May , the direction chosen for air searches by the opposing commanders brought the two carrier forces to within 70 nmi ( 81 mi ; 130 km ) of each other , unbeknownst to both sides . Beginning on 7 May , the carrier forces from the two sides engaged in airstrikes over two consecutive days .
Frank Joseph Petrarca ( July 31 , 1918 - July 31 , 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 .
Jackson Charles Pharris ( June 26 , 1912 - October 17 , 1966 ) was an officer in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the attack on Pearl Harbor .
In the United States Armed Forces , the ranks of warrant officer ( grades W - 1 to W - 5 ; see NATO : WO1-WO5 ) are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers , candidates , cadets , and midshipmen , but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O - 1 ( NATO : OF - 1 ) . This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries , where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks ( NATO : OR - 8 and OR - 9 ) , equivalent to the US Armed Forces grades of E - 8 and E - 9 . Warrant officers are highly skilled , single-track specialty officers , and while the ranks are authorized by Congress , each branch of the uniformed services selects , manages , and uses warrant officers in slightly different ways . For appointment to the rank of warrant officer one ( W - 1 ) , normally a warrant is approved by the secretary of the respective service . However , appointment to this rank can come via commission by the service secretary , the department secretary , or by the President , but this is more uncommon . For the chief warrant officer ranks ( CW - 2 to CW - 5 ) , these warrant officers are commissioned by the President . Both warrant officers and chief warrant officers take the same oath as regular commissioned officers ( O - 1 to O - 10 ) . Warrant officers can and do command detachments , units , activities , vessels , aircraft , and armored vehicles , as well as lead , coach , train , and counsel subordinates . However , the warrant officer 's primary task as a leader is to serve as a technical expert , providing valuable skills , guidance , and expertise to commanders and organizations in their particular field .
Wesley Phelps ( June 12 , 1923 - October 4 , 1944 ) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life during the World War II Battle of Peleliu .
The Battle of Peleliu , codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States military , was fought between the U.S. and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Campaign of World War II , from September to November 1944 , on the island of Peleliu . U.S. Marines of the 1st Marine Division , and later soldiers of the U.S. Army 's 81st Infantry Division , fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island of Peleliu . This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager , which ran from June to November 1944 , in the Pacific Theater . Major General William Rupertus , Commander of the 1st Marine Division , predicted the island would be secured within four days . However , after repeated Imperial Army defeats in previous island campaigns , Japan had developed new island-defense tactics and well-crafted fortifications that allowed stiff resistance , extending the battle through more than two months . The outnumbered Japanese defenders put up such stiff resistance , often fighting to the death in the Emperor 's name , that the island became known in Japanese as the Emperor 's Island . In the United States , this was a controversial battle because of the island 's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate , which exceeded that of all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War . The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines .
Private George Phillips ( July 14 , 1926 - March 14 , 1945 ) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his own life to save the lives of fellow Marines on Iwo Jima by throwing himself over an activated hand grenade .
Francis Junior Pierce ( December 7 , 1924-December 21 , 1986 ) was a United States Navy hospital corpsman in World War II who received the nation 's highest military decoration for valor , the Medal of Honor . He was awarded the medal for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty on March 15-16 , 1945 , while assigned to a Marine Corps infantry battalion during the Battle of Iwo Jima .
A hospital corpsman ( HM /ˈkɔːrmən/ [ or corpsman ] ) is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy , who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit . The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician ( HS ) .
Petty officer first class ( PO1 ) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations . It is the sixth enlisted rate in the United States Navy , U.S. Coast Guard , and the U.S . Naval Sea Cadet Corps , ranking just above petty officer second class and directly below chief petty officer . It is designated as non-commissioned officer , as are all petty officer ratings . It is equivalent to the rank of staff sergeant in the Army and Marine Corps , and technical sergeant in the Air Force . They are all ranked E-6 , which refers to the enlisted numbering system associated with pay grades .
John J. Pinder Jr. ( June 6 , 1912 - June 6 , 1944 ) 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 during the Battle of Normandy .
Major Everett Parker Pope ( July 16 , 1919-July 16 , 2009 ) was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry on Peleliu in September 1944 while leading his men in an assault on a strategic hill , and for holding it , with rocks and bare fists when ammunition ran low , against Japanese suicide attacks .
John Vincent Jack Power ( November 20 , 1918 - February 1 , 1944 ) was a United States Marine Corps first lieutenant who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kwajalein in World War II .
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces and , in some forces , an appointment . The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations ( see comparative military ranks ) , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior ( first lieutenant ) and junior ( second lieutenant ) rank . The NATO equivalent rank for land force officers is OF-1 rank . In navies , while certain rank insignia may carry the name : lieutenant , the term may also be used to relate to a particular post or duty , rather than a rank .
John James Powers ( July 3 , 1912 - May 8 , 1942 ) was a United States Navy officer and a recipient of the United States military 's highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions in World War II . He was born in New York City on July 3 , 1912 and graduated from the U.S . Naval Academy in 1935 .
Lieutenant [ nb 1 ] ( abbreviated Lt , LT , LT ( N ) , Lt ( N ) , Lieut and LEUT , depending on nation ) is a commissioned officer rank in many nations ' navies . It is typically the most senior of junior officer ranks . In most navies , the rank 's insignia may consist of two medium gold braid stripes , the uppermost stripe featuring an executive curl in many Commonwealth of Nations ; or three stripes of equal or unequal width . The now immediately senior rank of lieutenant commander was formerly a senior naval lieutenant rank . Many navies also use a subordinate rank of sub-lieutenant . The appointment of first lieutenant in many navies is held by a senior lieutenant . A navy lieutenant ranks higher than an army lieutenant ; the navy rank of lieutenant is a NATO OF-2 ( US grade O-3 ) and ranks with an army captain .