Ben L . Salomon Benjamin Lewis Salomon ( July 7 , 1944 ) was a United States Army dentist during World War II , assigned as a front - line surgeon since there were no equivalents of today ' s advanced paramedics . When the Japanese started overrunning his hospital , he stood a rear - guard action in which he had no hope of personal survival , allowing the safe evacuation of the wounded , killing 98 enemy troops before being killed during the Battle of Saipan in World War II . In 2002 , Salomon posthumous ly received the Medal of Honor . He is one of only three dental officers to have received the medal , the others being Alexander Gordon Lyle and Weedon Osborne . Biography . Salomon was born in Milwaukee , Wisconsin on September 1 , 1914 . He was an Eagle Scout ; one of nine who also were awarded the Medal of Honor . He graduated from Shorewood High School and attended Marquette University and later the USC where he completed his undergraduate degree . He graduated from the USC Dental School in 1937 and began a dental practice . In 1940 , he was drafted into the U . S . Army and began his military service as an infantry private . In 1942 , he was notified that he was to become an officer in the Army Dental Corps and was commissioned a First Lieutenant on August 14 , 1942 . In May 1943 , he was serving as the regimental dental officer of the 105th Infantry Regiment , 27th Infantry Division . He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1944 . In June 1944 , Salomon saw his first combat — going ashore on Saipan with the 105th Infantry . With little dental work to do during active combat , Salomon volunteered to replace the 2nd Battalion ' s surgeon who had been wounded . As the 2nd Battalion advanced , casualties were high . On July 7 , Salomon ' s aid station was set up about 50 yards behind the forward foxhole line . Fighting was heavy and the Japanese soon overran the perimeter and then the aid station . Salomon was able to fend off the enemy in the tent and ordered the wounded to be evacuated while he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal . When an Army team returned to the site days later , Salomon ' s body was found slumped over a machine gun , with the bodies of 98 enemy troops piled up in front of his position . His body had 76 bullet and many bayonet wounds , up to 24 of which may have been received while he was still alive . The long road to the Medal of Honor . Capt . Edmund G . Love , the 27th Division historian , was a part of the team that found Salomon ' s body . At the request of Brig . Gen . Ogden J . Ross , the assistant commander of the 27th Division , Love gathered eyewitness accounts and prepared a recommendation for the Medal of Honor for Salomon . The recommendation was returned by Maj . Gen . George W . Griner , the commanding general of the 27th Division . Officially , Griner declined to approve the award because Salomon was " in the medical service and wore a Red Cross brassard upon his arm . Under the rules of the Geneva Convention , to which the United States subscribes , no medical officer can bear arms against the enemy . " However , the guideline for awarding the Medal of Honor to medical non - combatants states that one may not receive the Medal of Honor for actions in an " offensive " . More recent interpretations of the Convention , as well as the US Laws of Land Warfare allow use of personal weapons ( i . e . , rifles and pistols ) in self - defense or in defense of patients and staff , as long as the medical soldier does not wear the Red Cross . Part of the problem in Salomon ' s citation was that a machine gun is considered a " crew - served " , not an individual weapon . Prior to Salomon , only two Jews were awarded Medals of Honor during World War II and none for Korea although some ( like Salomon ) have been decorated years after the fact including Pfc . Leonard Kravitz ( uncle and namesake of the pop star Lenny Kravitz ) and Corporal Tibor Rubin , who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 2005 . In 1951 , Love again resubmitted the recommendation through the Office of the Chief of Military History . The recommendation was returned without action with another pro - forma reason : the time limit for submitting World War II awards had passed . In 1969 , another Medal of Honor recommendation was submitted by Lt . Gen . Hal B . Jennings , the Surgeon General of the United States Army . In 1970 , Stanley R . Resor , Secretary of the Army , recommended approval and forwarded the recommendation to the Secretary of Defense . The recommendation was returned without action . In 1998 , the recommendation was re - submitted by Dr . Robert West ( USC Dental School ) through Congressman Brad Sherman . Finally , on May 1 , 2002 , President George W . Bush presented Salomon ' s Medal of Honor to Dr . West . Salomon ' s Medal of Honor is displayed at the USC Dental School . The Army Medical Department , at this point , was supportive . Medal of Honor citation . CAPTAIN BEN L . SALOMON UNITED STATES ARMY For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty : Captain Ben L . Salomon was serving at Saipan , in the Marianas Islands on July 7 , 1944 , as the Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion , 105th Infantry Regiment , 27th Infantry Division . The Regiment ’ s 1st and 2d Battalions were attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3 , 000 and 5 , 000 Japanese soldiers . It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II . Although both units fought furiously , the enemy soon penetrated the Battalions ’ combined perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties . In the first minutes of the attack , approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked , crawled , or were carried into Captain Salomon ’ s aid station , and the small tent soon filled with wounded men . As the perimeter began to be overrun , it became increasingly difficult for Captain Salomon to work on the wounded . He then saw a Japanese soldier bayonet ing one of the wounded soldiers lying near the tent . Firing from a squatting position , Captain Salomon quickly killed the enemy soldier . Then , as he turned his attention back to the wounded , two more Japanese soldiers appeared in the front entrance of the tent . As these enemy soldiers were killed , four more crawled under the tent walls . Rushing them , Captain Salomon kicked the knife out of the hand of one , shot another , and bayoneted a third . Captain Salomon butted the fourth enemy soldier in the stomach and a wounded comrade then shot and killed the enemy soldier . Realizing the gravity of the situation , Captain Salomon ordered the wounded to make their way as best they could back to the regimental aid station , while he attempted to hold off the enemy until they were clear . Captain Salomon then grabbed a rifle from one of the wounded and rushed out of the tent . After four men were killed while manning a machine gun , Captain Salomon took control of it . When his body was later found , 98 dead enemy soldiers were piled in front of his position . Captain Salomon ’ s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself , his unit , and the United States Army .