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Writer's pictureMelinda Ray

Dentist, Soldier, Medal of Honor

Benjamin L. Salomon (1914-1944), Army



Early Years


Benjamin Louis Salomon attended the USC School of Dentistry and was a practicing dentist before being drafted into the Army in the Fall of 1940 and assuming the role of an infantry private. A natural soldier, he won awards for his ability with both pistols and rifles and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant.


In 1942, although he requested remaining in the infantry, he was transferred to the Dental Corps, commissioned a first lieutenant, and sent to Hawaii. After a few months working in a hospital, he was assigned to be the regimental dental officer of the 105th Infantry regiment, part of the 27th Infantry Division, where he soon attained the rank of Captain. With little work as the company dentist, Captain Salomon volunteered to replace the 2nd Battalion’s surgeon who had been wounded in a mortar attack. This is where he makes his indelible mark.


Bravery Personified


On the evening of July 6, Japanese commander General Saito organized a suicide mission, consisting of as many as five or six thousand men, and began an attack on the 2nd Battalion serving at Siapan, in the Marianas Islands. Initially, the Americans opened fire and inflicted considerable damage but the wave of Japanese soldiers continued and were soon inside the foxhole perimeter. In his aid station about 50 yards behind the foxholes, Salomon was soon overwhelmed caring for several wounded soldiers.


While administering aid, Japanese soldiers entered the aid tent and Salomon sprung into action, shooting one enemy (who had just bayoneted a wounded American) and clubbing two more enemies with a rifle before shooting one and bayonetting the other. When four more Japanese soldiers entered the tent, Salomon shot one, bayoneted one, stabbed one, and finally head-butted the fourth before leaving the aid tent to seek help.


Unfortunately, Salomon soon recognized that the Battalion was overrun. He returned to the tent and ordered evacuation of the wounded, staying behind to hold off the enemy and cover their withdrawal. Rushing out of the tent a second time, he assessed the dire situation, noticed the four men manning a machine gun had been killed, took control of the machine gun, and continued defending his battalion.


The fighting continued until early July 8th when the Americans regained their position. When Ben Salomon’s body was found behind the machine gun he commandeered, 98 deceased enemy soldiers were piled in front of his position.


Medal of Honor Journey


Because Captain Salomon was a medical officer and wore a Red Cross armband, he was ineligible for the Medal of Honor he was recommended for as it violated the rules outlined at the Geneva Convention. Another attempt to secure the honor was rejected in 1951 because the time limit on submitting World War II awards had expired.


In the late 1960s, another attempt began. This time, a legal review by the Judge Advocate General's office stated that the 1929 Geneva Convention allowed medical personnel to bear arms in self-defense and in defense of the wounded and sick, opening the door for Captain Salomon to finally receive the honor he deserved. However, on June 10, 1972, the Office of the Secretary of Defense returned Salomon's Medal of Honor recommendation yet again, stating now that it was based on circumstantial information.


It wasn’t until the mid 1990s that another Army dentist, Col. John E. King, stumbled across Captain Salomon’s story and shared the files with Dr. Robert West, an alumnus of the USC School of Dentistry. West sifted through the files and, with help from the Army's Military Awards Branch and his Congressman, Representative Brad Sherman, submitted the application in September 1998 for Captain Salomon to finally receive his recognition.


On May 1, 2002, Benjamin Louis Salomon, a Jewish American soldier, was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush for his incredible feats during WWII.


Learn more about Captain Salomon at these sites:

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