Harold H . Moon , Jr . Harold Herman Moon , Jr . ( March 15 , 1921 – October 21 , 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 during the Battle of Leyte in World War II . Biography . Moon joined the Army from Gardena , California in August 1942 , and served as a private in Company G , 34th Infantry Regiment , 24th Infantry Division . Before the landing on Leyte , Moon was a persistent troublemaker and known as the " G Company screw - up . " He had been confined to the stockade yet was released back to his unit , amidst strong objection , just prior to the battle . On the night of October 21 , 1944 , during a Japan ese counterattack at Pawig , Leyte in the Philippines , Moon held his position manning a submachine gun despite intense enemy fire and overwhelming odds . He was killed during the battle and , on November 15 , 1945 , posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions . Moon , aged 23 at his death , was buried at Sunset Memorial Park in his birth city of Albuquerque , New Mexico . Medal of Honor citation . Private Moon ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity when powerful Japanese counterblows were being struck in a desperate effort to annihilate a newly won beachhead . In a forward position , armed with a submachinegun , he met the brunt of a strong , well - supported night attack which quickly enveloped his platoon ' s flanks . Many men in nearby positions were killed or injured , and Pvt . Moon was wounded as his foxhole became the immediate object of a concentration of mortar and machinegun fire . Nevertheless , he maintained his stand , poured deadly fire into the enemy , daringly exposed himself to hostile fire time after time to exhort and inspire what American troops were left in the immediate area . A Japanese officer , covered by machinegun fire and hidden by an embankment , attempted to knock out his position with grenades , but Pvt . Moon , after protracted and skillful maneuvering , killed him . When the enemy advanced a light machinegun to within 20 yards of the shattered perimeter and fired with telling effects on the remnants of the platoon , he stood up to locate the gun and remained exposed while calling back range corrections to friendly mortars which knocked out the weapon . A little later he killed 2 Japanese as they charged an aid man . By dawn his position , the focal point of the attack for more than 4 hours , was virtually surrounded . In a fanatical effort to reduce it and kill its defender , an entire platoon charged with fixed bayonets . Firing from a sitting position , Pvt . Moon calmly emptied his magazine into the advancing horde , killing 18 and repulsing the attack . In a final display of bravery , he stood up to throw a grenade at a machinegun which had opened fire on the right flank . He was hit and instantly killed , falling in the position from which he had not been driven by the fiercest enemy action . Nearly 200 dead Japanese were found within 100 yards of his foxhole . The continued tenacity , combat sagacity , and magnificent heroism with which Pvt . Moon fought on against overwhelming odds contributed in a large measure to breaking up a powerful enemy threat and did much to insure our initial successes during a most important operation .