William J . Bordelon William James Bordelon ( December 25 , 1920 – November 20 , 1943 ) was a United States Marine who served in combat during World War II . During the Battle of Tarawa , he was killed in action while he led the assault on the enemy and rescued fellow Marines . For his acts of gallantry , he was posthumously awarded the United States ' highest military honor — the Medal of Honor . He was the first U . S . Marine from Texas to be awarded the Medal of Honor for action in World War II . Biography . William Bordelon was born on December 25 , 1920 in San Antonio , Texas . He graduated from Central Catholic Marianist High School in San Antonio in 1938 , where he was the JROTC battalion major in 1937 - 1938 . He was one of three of the high school ' s graduates who died on Tarawa . He enlisted in the Marine Corps on December 10 , 1941 , and completed his recruit training at to Marine Corps Recruit Depot , San Diego , California . He joined the 2nd Engineer Battalion , 2nd Marine Division , in San Diego . He was rapidly promoted — to private first class on February 5 , 1942 ; to corporal on March 14 , 1942 ; and to sergeant on July 10 , 1942 . He was killed in action , at age 22 , while serving as a member of an assault engineer platoon of the First Battalion , Eighteenth Marines , tactically attached to the 2nd Marine Division against the Japan ese in the Battle of Tarawa , in the Islands on November 20 , 1943 . He single - handedly destroyed four enemy pillbox es before he was fatally wounded . Bordelon was awarded the Medal of Honor for his " valorous and gallant conduct above and beyond the call of duty " in leading his men while seriously wounded . He was the first U . S . Marine from Texas to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II . Four Medals of Honor were awarded for actions on Tarawa , three were posthumous awards , and the fourth was awarded to then - Colonel David M . Shoup , who became the 22nd Commandant of the Marine Corps . He was originally buried in the Lone Palm Cemetery on Betio Island , Tarawa Atoll , then later interred in Honolulu , Hawaii at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific . At the request of his brother , Bordelon ' s body was moved from Hawaii to Texas in 1995 . After lying in state at the Alamo , Bordelon ' s body was re - interred in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery , San Antonio , Texas , on the 52nd anniversary of his death . Medal of Honor citation . The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to STAFF SERGEANT WILLIAM J . BORDELON UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following CITATION : / S / FRANKLIN D . ROOSEVELT Honors . The destroyer was named in his honor in 1945 , and in April 1994 , the Navy named San Antonio ' s Navy - Marine Corps Reserve Center after him . Also named for Bordelon is a Marine Corps and Navy VFW post and a section of Interstate 37 which runs through San Antonio , between I - 35 and I - 10 . Bordelon ' s alma mater , Central Catholic Marianist High School in San Antonio , has memorialized him in several ways . Central Catholic ' s junior ROTC rifle team is called the Bordelon Rifles in his honor . On November 3 , 2007 , the " William J . Bordelon Memorial " in the school ' s main foyer was dedicated . The memorial also remembers fellow high school graduates and Marines who died on Tarawa — Gene Seng , Jr . and Charles Montague .