The Independence Day Medals of Honor

MAJ Charles E. Capehart: On Independence Day, 1863, he went beyond the call of duty when serving with the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. Capehart charged down a mountainside at midnight through heavy rain in order to capture an enemy wagon train attempting to retreat. His actions resulted in his men destroying many enemy wagons and capturing combatants.

SFT Marcus A. Hanna: He was another recipient whose actions were on 4 July 1863, while serving with Company B, 50th Massachusetts Infantry. During a battle in Port Hudson, Louisiana, he courageously subjected himself to heavy enemy fire in order to get provisions for his suffering fellow soldiers in the rifle pits.

CPL Thomas A. Pope: On 4 July 1918, during World War I in Hamel, France, while serving with 1st Platoon, Company E, 131st Infantry, 33rd Division, Pope moved forward alone in order to rush a German machine-gun nest and save his company. He continued to hold off additional enemy soldiers until American reinforcements arrived to capture them.

PFC William K. Nakamura: On 4 July 1944, near Castellina, Italy, during World War II, serving with Company G, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Nakamura’s platoon was pinned down by enemy machine-gun fire, and, under heavy fire, he worked his way toward the machine gunner’s position and killed the enemy. Later that day, when covering a withdrawal of his men, he was killed defending his fellow soldiers.

PFC Frank H. Ono: Also on 4 July 1944, during the same engagement near Castellina, Italy, with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, when Ono’s platoon was in danger of being encircled and ordered to withdraw, he volunteered to provide covering fire for his platoon. At great peril to himself, he deliberately presented himself as a target to draw enemy fire until his men reached safety. He was able to successfully descend the hill and rejoin his platoon.

Notably, both Nakamura and Ono were among more than 12,000 Nisei or Sansei (second- or third-generation Japanese-Americans) who volunteered to serve in North Africa and the Italian campaigns with the 442nd Infantry Regiment, in brutal battles against NAZI strongholds. Remarkably, in less than two years of service, the combined units of the 442nd were among the most decorated in World War II, earning more than 4,000 Purple Hearts, 4,000 Bronze Star Medals, and 560 Silver Star Medals. Moreover, 21 of the 442nd’s members, among them Nakamura and Ono, were awarded Medals of Honor for their valorous actions.

SGT Leroy A. Mendonca: On 4 July 1951, while serving with Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division during the Korean War, Mendonca’s platoon had completed an intense battle and captured Hill 586 near Chich-On, Korea. They were attacked by a far superior enemy force, and when his platoon was ordered to withdraw to a more secure line of defense, Mendonca remained in a position exposed to enemy fire in order to cover his platoon’s withdrawal. He fought off enemy combatants until he was mortally wounded, just as his platoon reached the secondary line of defense.