William J . O ' Brien ( Medal of Honor ) William Joseph O ' Brien ( 1899 – July 7 , 1944 ) 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 during the Battle of Saipan . Biography . O ' Brien joined the Army from his birth city of Troy , New York , and by June 20 , 1944 was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the 1st Battalion , 105th Infantry Regiment , 27th Infantry Division . On that day , on Saipan in the Marianas Islands , he braved enemy fire to reach several American tanks which were unknowingly firing on their own troops . The next week , on June 28 , he orchestrated and personally led an attack on a Japan ese held ridge . When his battalion came under attack from a much larger enemy force on July 7 , he refused to leave the front lines even after being wounded , and continued to lead his men until being overrun and killed . He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on May 9 , 1945 , for his actions throughout the battle for Saipan . O ' Brien , aged 44 or 45 at his death , was buried at Saint Peter ' s Cemetery in his hometown of Troy , New York . Medal of Honor citation . Lieutenant Colonel O ' Brien ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan , Marianas Islands , from 20 June through 7 July 1944 . When assault elements of his platoon were held up by intense enemy fire , Lt . Col . O ' Brien ordered 3 tanks to precede the assault companies in an attempt to knock out the strongpoint . Due to direct enemy fire the tanks ' turrets were closed , causing the tanks to lose direction and to fire into our own troops . Lt . Col . O ' Brien , with complete disregard for his own safety , dashed into full view of the enemy and ran to the leader ' s tank , and pounded on the tank with his pistol butt to attract 2 of the tank ' s crew and , mounting the tank fully exposed to enemy fire , Lt . Col . O ' Brien personally directed the assault until the enemy strongpoint had been liquidated . On 28 June 1944 , while his platoon was attempting to take a bitterly defended high ridge in the vicinity of Donnay , Lt . Col . O ' Brien arranged to capture the ridge by a double envelopment movement of 2 large combat battalions . He personally took control of the maneuver . Lt . Col . O ' Brien crossed 1 , 200 yards of sniper - infested underbrush alone to arrive at a point where 1 of his platoons was being held up by the enemy . Leaving some men to contain the enemy he personally led 4 men into a narrow ravine behind , and killed or drove off all the Japanese manning that strongpoint . In this action he captured 5 machineguns and one 77 - mm . fieldpiece . Lt . Col . O ' Brien then organized the 2 platoons for night defense and against repeated counterattacks directed them . Meanwhile he managed to hold ground . On 7 July 1944 his battalion and another battalion were attacked by an overwhelming enemy force estimated at between 3 , 000 and 5 , 000 Japanese . With bloody hand - to - hand fighting in progress everywhere , their forward positions were finally overrun by the sheer weight of the enemy numbers . With many casualties and ammunition running low , Lt . Col . O ' Brien refused to leave the front lines . Striding up and down the lines , he fired at the enemy with a pistol in each hand and his presence there bolstered the spirits of the men , encouraged them in their fight and sustained them in their heroic stand . Even after he was seriously wounded , Lt . Col . O ' Brien refused to be evacuated and after his pistol ammunition was exhausted , he manned a . 50 caliber machinegun , mounted on a jeep , and continued firing . When last seen alive he was standing upright firing into the Jap hordes that were then enveloping him . Some time later his body was found surrounded by enemy he had killed . His valor was consistent with the highest traditions of the service . Honors . The U . S . Army ship USAT " Col . William J . O ' Brien " , which served in the Pacific Ocean at the end of World War II , was named in his honor . In November 2009 , a memorial honoring O ' Brien and fellow Troy natives Major General Ogden Ross and Sergeant Thomas Baker was installed in the Rensselaer County office building . Baker , like O ' Brien a member of the 105th Infantry , was also posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Saipan ; he died there within hours of O ' Brien . Ross was a former commander of the 105th Infantry and an assistant divisional commander during the Battle of Saipan . The memorial includes replicas of the Medals of Honor awarded to O ' Brien and Baker .