Benjamin Lewis Salomon (September 1st, 1914 – July 7th, 1944) was a United States Army dentist who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour after his heroic sacrifice at the Battle of Saipan.
Biography[]
Salomon was born into a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on September 1, 1914. He was an Eagle Scout, one of nine who were awarded the Medal of Honor. He graduated from Shorewood High School and attended Marquette University, before transferring to the University of Southern California, where he completed his undergraduate degree. He graduated from the USC Dental School in 1937 and began a dental practice. However, he was drafted into the US army in 1940 to fight in the Second World War.
Commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Army Dental Corps, Salomon was deployed in Saipan to fight the Japanese. The surgeon was wounded, and Salomon volunteered to replaced him, with his aid station set up 50 yards behind the front line. However, the Japanese overran the aid tent and Salomon was forced to fight them off. Headbutting and disarming the enemy who entered the tent, he opened fire on the soldiers, killing 98 of them before being killed from 76 gunshots and up to 24 bayonet wounds. However, his brave actions allowed the wounded to escape and he was given the Medal of Honour, the highest award given to American soldiers in combat.