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World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Captain Ben Salomon
**President Bush signed the Bill to bestow the Congressional Medal of Honor on Ben Salomon.
Ben Salomon and the Congressional Medal of Honor
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 1, 2002
President Presents Congressional Medals of Honor
Remarks by the President at Presentation of Medal of Honor
The Rose Garden
View the President's Remarks
Listen to the President's Remarks
2:11 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House, and welcome to our beautiful Rose Garden. We gather in tribute to two young men who died long ago in the service to America. In awarding the Medal of Honor to Captain Ben Salomon and Captain Jon Swanson , the United States acknowledges a debt that time has not diminished.
It's my honor to welcome to the Rose Garden the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tony Principi, Secretary Tom White of the Army, General Eric Shinseki, General John Jumper, Brigadier General David Hicks, the Chaplain -- thank you General Hicks for your prayer -- Congressman Brad Sherman, Congressman Charlie Norwood, Congressman Mark Udall, World War II veterans, Vietnam veterans, fellow Americans.
Joining us in this ceremony are four men who themselves earned the Medal of Honor: Barney Barnum , Al Rascon , Ryan Thacker , and Nicky Bacon . Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
President Harry S. Truman said he would rather have earned the Medal of Honor than be the Commander-in-Chief. When you meet a veteran who wears that medal, remember the moment, because you are looking at one of the bravest ever to wear our country's uniform. We're honored to welcome these gentlemen.
I'm also pleased to welcome the family of Captain Swanson -- Sandee Swanson and their daughters, Holly and Brigid. We're so glad you all are here. (Applause.) I know how proud you must be of the man you have loved and missed for so many years. And seeing you here today, I know that John would be extremely proud.
For Captain Ben Salomon, no living relatives remain to witness this moment. And even though they never met, Captain Salomon is represented today by a true friend, Dr. Robert West. Welcome, sir. (Applause.)
Five years ago, Dr. West was reading about his fellow alumni of the University of Southern California's Dental School. He came upon the story of Ben Salomon of the class of 1937, who was a surgeon in World War II, and was posthumously nominated for the Medal of Honor. The medal was denied on a technicality. Looking into the matter, Dr. West found that an honest error had occurred, and that Captain Salomon was indeed eligible to receive the Medal of Honor.
He earned it on the day he died, July the 7th, 1944. Captain Salomon was serving in the Marianas Islands as a surgeon, in the 27th infantry division, when his battalion came under ferocious attack by thousands of Japanese soldiers. The American units sustained massive casualties, and the advancing enemy soon descended on Captain Salomon's aid station. To defend the wounded men in his care, Captain Salomon killed several enemy soldiers who had entered the aid station.
As the advance continued, he ordered comrades to evacuate the tent and carry away the wounded. He went out to face the enemy alone, and was last heard shouting, "I'll hold them off, until you get them to safety. See you later."
In the moments that followed, Captain Salomon single-handedly killed 98 enemy soldiers, saving many American lives, but sacrificing his own. As best the Army could tell, he was shot 24 times before he fell, more than 50 times after that. And when they found his body, he was still at his gun.
No one who knew him is with us this afternoon. Yet America will always know Benjamin Lewis Salomon by the citation to be read shortly. It tells of one young man who was the match for 100, a person of true valor who now receives the honor due him from a grateful country.
The Medal of Honor recognizes acts of bravery that no superior could rightly order a soldier to perform. The courage it signifies -- gallant, intrepid service at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty -- is written forever in the service record of Army Captain Jon Swanson.
A helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War , Captain Swanson flew his last mission on his second tour of duty, on February 26th, 1971, over Cambodia. As Allied forces on the ground came under heavy enemy fire, Captain Swanson was called in to provide close air support. Flying at tree-top level, he found and engaged the enemy, exposing himself to intense fire from the ground. He ran out of heavy ordinance, yet continued to drop smoke grenades to mark other targets for nearby gunships.
Captain Swanson made it back to safety, his ammunition nearly gone, and his Scout helicopter heavily damaged. Had he stayed on the ground, no one would have faulted him. But he had seen more -- he had seen that more targets needed marking, to eliminate the danger to the troops on the ground. He volunteered to do the job himself, flying directly into enemy fire, until his helicopter exploded in flight.
Captain Swanson's actions, said one fellow officer, "were the highest degree of personal bravery and self-sacrifice I have ever witnessed". Others agreed, and the Medal of Honor was recommended by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and by the late Admiral John McCain. However, only the Distinguished Service Cross was awarded, until a recent review of the case made clear that the nation's highest military honor was in order.
And so today, on what would have been his 60th birthday, the Medal of Honor is presented to the family of John Edward Swanson.
The two events we recognize today took place a generation apart, but they represent the same tradition. That tradition of military valor and sacrifice has preserved our country, and continues to this day. Captain Salomon and Captain Swanson never lived to wear this medal, but they will be honored forever in the memory of our country.
And now Commander Reynolds, will you please read the citations.
(The citations are read.) (Applause.)
END 2:19 P.M. EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Army medic whose heroics during the Battle of Saipan in World War II have gone unrecognized for nearly 60 years will be given the Congressional Medal of Honor during ceremonies Wednesday at the White House.
Army Capt. Ben Louis Salomon sacrificed his life to save patients when 5,000 Japanese troops launched an overwhelming charge. Salomon, a senior medical officer of the 107th Infantry Division, was in a tent station when the enemy troops attacked and he ordered enlisted medics to evacuate the wounded to a rear area.
The two machine gunners assigned to defend his aid station were killed, so Salomon told his medics he would man a machine gun.
"I'll hold them off until you get them to safety," Salomon told the medics. "See you later."
Salomon's patients and medics all made it safely out of the battle zone.
His lifeless body was found at his post the next day, finger still on the machine gun trigger. Nearly 100 Japanese attackers lay dead around Salomon's position.
Dr. Robert West, of Calabasas, learned about "Dr. Ben" and his heroics while doing research in 1995 on notable alumni for the University of Southern California's centennial celebration.
West, a World War II veteran, dentist and Southern Cal graduate, learned that Salomon graduated in 1937 from Southern Cal's dental school. A report he found noted that Salomon had been denied the nation's highest military honor because he was a medical officer, which made him ineligible.
"For a long time I didn't think this was going to happen," said West. "But it has been a labor of love."
West spent five years collecting documents, weaving his way through Pentagon regulations and working with the staff of Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills, to gain recognition for Salomon.
Prior efforts to nominate Salomon were quashed by the 107th's commanders. They interpreted the rules of the 1929 Geneva Convention, which barred medical personnel from combat, to mean that Salomon was ineligible for battle honors.
"They got it wrong," West said. "The Geneva Convention barred medics from taking up arms offensively. But it allowed defensive actions, especially those taken on behalf of patients. And that's exactly what Dr. Ben did that day."
Salomon, who grew up in West Los Angeles and made Eagle Scout as a teen, was the only son of Ben and Bess Salomon. West said one of the many reasons he took up the medic's cause was that Salomon's long-dead mother and father never learned of their son's courage.
"They only knew that he had been killed in action," said West. "They didn't even get a Purple Heart."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials finally agreed with West in March and notified him of Wednesday's medal ceremony. President Bush is scheduled to give the medal to West and Maj. Gen. Patrick Sculley, chief of the Army Dental Corps. The medal itself will go on display at the Army Dental Corps headquarters in San Antonio.
A replica will be enshrined at the USC Dental School.
"I'm excited about seeing the president and very appreciative that this injustice is finally being corrected," West said. "But mostly I'm happy for Dr. Ben, the soldier dentist."
Army Secretary Thomas White, Dr. Robert West, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley pause following the unveiling of the soldier's photo and Medal of Honor citation during his induction into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes on May 2, 2002. A day earlier, President Bush presented West with the Medal of Honor on behalf of Salomon, who died on Saipan during World War II in a one-man rear-guard battle. Photo by Jim Garamone.
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