Robert D . Reem Second Lieutenant Robert Dale Reem ( October 20 , 1925 – November 6 , 1950 ) was a United States Marine Corps officer who posthumously received the United States ' highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his heroic actions during the Korean War ; he threw himself on an enemy grenade , sacrificing his life to save his men . Biography . Robert Dale Reem was born on October 20 , 1925 in Lancaster , Pennsylvania . He graduated from Elizabethtown High School in June 1943 . During his final year of high school , he was a page in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from January to May 1943 . He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in August 1943 , completed his recruit training at Parris Island , South Carolina , in October and was selected for appointment to the Naval Academy at that time . He attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School at the Naval Training Center , Bainbridge , Maryland , before entering the Academy in June 1944 . He was commissioned a Marine Corps second lieutenant on June 4 , 1948 , upon his graduation from Annapolis . In June 1949 , he completed the Basic School at Quantico , Virginia , where he remained with the Special Training Regiment until that August . In December 1949 , after several months at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina , with the 3rd Battalion , 6th Marines , 2nd Marine Division , he was assigned with that battalion to duty with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean . In August 1950 , the battalion was ordered to Korea , where it joined the 7th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division . 2Lt Reem fought with his battalion in the Inchon landing , the capture of Seoul , and the fighting in North Korea . The 26 - year - old Marine was commanding an infantry platoon near Chinhung - ni , North Korea , on November 6 , 1950 . He was preparing his men for an assault on an enemy position when the grenade landed among them . Without hesitation , he smothered the grenade ’ s explosion with his own body to save the rest of the group from death or serious injury . For this action , he was awarded the Medal of Honor . The Medal of Honor was presented to his widow by Secretary of the Navy Dan A . Kimball in ceremonies on February 8 , 1952 in Washington , D . C . He initially was buried in the United Nations Cemetery near Hamhung , North Korea . His body was later returned to the United States for burial in Arlington National Cemetery , Arlington , Virginia . His grave can be found in section 6 , Grave 9376 - B , Map Grid X / 18 . As of 2010 , he was the only NAPS graduate and , along with Baldomero Lopez , the latest graduates of the Naval Academy to receive a Medal of Honor . ( Admiral Stockdale received one for Vietnam War service , but was a 1947 graduate . ) Reem is memorialized at the US Naval Academy with a special dormitory room , the Reem room , with brass plaque . Awards and decorations . 2LT Reem ' s awards include : Medal of Honor citation . The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to SECOND LIEUTENANT ROBERT D . REEM UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following CITATION : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Platoon Commander in Company H , Third Battalion , Seventh Marine Regiment , First Marine Division ( Reinforced ) , in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Chinhung - ni , Korea , on November 6 , 1950 . Grimly determined to dislodge a group of heavy enemy infantry units occupying well - concealed and strongly fortified positions on commanding ground overlooking unprotected terrain , Second Lieutenant Reem moved slowly forward up the side of the ridge with his platoon in the face of a veritable hail of shattering hostile machine - gun , grenade and rifle fire . Three times repulsed by a resolute enemy force in achieving his objective , and pinned down by the continuing fury of hostile fire , he rallied and regrouped the heroic men in his depleted and disorganized platoon in preparation for a fourth attack . Issuing last - minute orders to his non - commissioned officers when an enemy grenade landed in a depression of rocky ground in which the group was standing . Second Lieutenant Reem unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and , springing upon the deadly missile , absorbed the full impact of the explosion in his own body , thus protecting others from serious injury and possible death , Stout - hearted and indomitable , he readily yielded his own chance of survival that his subordinate leaders might live decisiveness and valiant spirit of self - sacrifice in the face of certain death reflect the highest credit upon Second Lieutenant Reem and the United States Naval Service . He gallantly gave his life for his country . / S / HARRY S . TRUMAN