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Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Pfc. Eugene Arnold Obregon, USMC
Marine Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon, 19, of Los Angeles, California, earned the Medal of Honor in Korea for sacrificing his life to save that of a wounded comrade.
The Nation's highest decoration for valor was awarded the youthful Marine posthumously for extraordinary heroism on 26 September 1950, at Seoul, when he shielded a fallen friend with his body until fatally wounded by enemy machine gun fire.
The Medal was presented to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter R. Obregon of Los Angeles, California, by Secretary of the Navy Kimball on 30 August 1951.
Born 12 November 1930, at Los Angeles, Private First Class Obregon attended elementary schools there and later Roosevelt High School before enlisting in the Marine Corps on 7 June 1948, at the age of 17.
Following recruit training at San Diego, California, he was assigned to the Marine Corps Supply Depot, Barstow, California, where he served as a fireman until the outbreak of the war in Korea. He was transferred to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and served as a machine gun ammunition carrier. His unit departed the United States on 14 July 1950 and arrived at Pusan, Korea on 3 August 1950.
He was in action by 8 August 1950, along the Naktong River, and participated in the lnchon landing. Then, on 26 September, during the assault on the city of Seoul, came the act in which he gave his life.
The wounded comrade was Private First Class Bert M. Johnson, 19, of Grand Prairie, Texas. He was hospitalized, recovered, and returned to duty in the United States at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Private First Class Obregon also was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Stars.
KOREA 1950
Private first class Eugene Obregon was 19, a small, quick kid from East L.A. Pfc. Bert Johnson, also 19, was a tall, rangy boy from Grand Prairie, Texas. Texans and Chicanos aren't supposed to get along, but "Obie" Obregon and "Bobo" Johnson had made it together from boot camp to the same machinegun squad in Korea. They were like brothers, as other Marines would later recall.
That afternoon of September 26, 1950, as the leading elements of the First Marine Division fought their way down a wide, war-torn boulevard toward Changkok Palace, in the South Korean capital of Seoul, these two young Leathernecks were about to lend a new meaning to their Corps' motto: Semper Fidelis -- Always Faithful.
``Suddenly the silence was shattered by fire from a camouflaged North Korean machinegun,'' Fred Davidson. a fellow Marine, later wrote. ``Bert went down.''
Young Johnson had taken hits in his side, both legs and the right elbow. His skull was fractured by a fifth bullet hitting his helmet.
Seeing his buddy fall, Obregon shouted. ``Stay put, Bobo. I'm coming for you!'' Johnson yelled back: ``Don't try it, Obie! Keep your cover!'' But Obregon was already on his way.
Armed only with a pistol, firing as he ran, Obregon reached Johnson and dragged him to a curb, where he began bandaging his wounds. And at that moment a platoon-sized force of North Koreans attacked.
Quickly seizing Johnson's carbine, Obregon placed himself as a shield in front of his buddy and continued firing until the enemy fell back, leaving 22 dead behind.
This time, the determined North Koreans brought up a machinegun to support their attack. But refusing to give way, Obregon continued firing, protecting his friend, until two machinegun bullets struck him in the face.
Obie's death had not been in vain. With time to reorganize, the Marines attacked, killing the remaining North Koreans. Despite his wounds, Bert Johnson survived, rotated home, and lived for 44 more years. ``And never did a day go by,'' recalled Johnson's friends, ``when Bobo didn't think of Gene Obregon, and the price he'd paid to give Bert back his life...''
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Private First Class Obregon was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Korean Service Medal with three Bronze Stars.
The story of Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon's ultimate sacrifice is but one illustration of the valor and loyalty demonstrated by the 38 Latino recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, America's highest award for heroism. These American servicemen time and again have shown their devotion to our country, and to the ideals of freedom on which it was founded, and have been awarded more Congressional Medals of Honor, percentage wise, than any ethnic group.
But Eugene Obregon's story tells us something else about these Americans. It tells us that the divisions of race, religion or color have no place in an America in which a Latino from East Los Angeles can give his life for his friend -- an Anglo from Texas. Truly, this is the brotherhood America is all about.
Eugene Arnold Obregon
Medal of Honor Recipient
He Gallantly Gave His Life for His Country
In Memory of a Hero East L.A. Man is Focus of Planned Monument to Latino Medal Winners
By Deborah Sullivan Special to the Times.
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times June 28, 1994
A Military portrait of Eugene Obregon graces the wall of his mother's house in Pico Rivera, next to a photo of the ship that bears his name. In the 44 years since his death, Henrietta Obregon has attended dedication ceremonies for a school, a barracks, an American Legion post and three parks named for her son, a Medal of Honor Recipient.
Now William Lansford and Al Flores want to turn the name Eugene Obregon into a symbol of civic pride and ethnic unity with a monument that they hope to build in his memory in Los Angeles' Pershing Square.
Lansford and Flores learned of the East Los Angeles soldier a dozen years ago while skimming through a history of Latinos in the armed services. The two Mexican American veterans of World War II had long dreamed of building a memorial to Latino Medal of Honor Recipients, and Obregon's story seemed to offer a compelling message.
Al Flores shows Henrietta Obregon, mother of
Korean War hero Eugene Obregon, a rendering
of a proposed monument to her son.
CITATION
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company G, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Seoul, Korea, 26 September 1950. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Born: 12 November 1930, Los Angeles, Calif. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company G, in action against enemy aggressor forces. While serving as an ammunition carrier of a machine gun squad in a marine rifle company which was temporarily pinned down by hostile fire, Pfc. Obregon observed a fellow marine fall wounded in the line of fire. Armed only with a pistol, he unhesitating dashed from his covered position to the side of the casualty. Firing his pistol with 1 hand as he ran, he grasped his comrade by the arm with his other hand and, despite the great peril to himself dragged him to the side of the road. Still under enemy fire, he was bandaging the man's wounds when hostile troops of approximately platoon strength began advancing toward his position. Quickly seizing the wounded marine's carbine, he placed his own body as a shield in front of him and lay there firing accurately and effectively into the hostile group until he himself was fatally wounded by enemy machine gun fire. By his courageous fighting spirit, fortitude, and loyal devotion to duty, Pfc. Obregon enabled his fellow marines to rescue the wounded man and aided essentially in repelling the attack, thereby sustaining and enhancing the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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