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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Pvt. Rodger W. Young, US ARMY
Soldiers stand guard over the casket of Pvt. Rodger W. Young, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, after the body was returned to the war hero's home town here. The infantryman, who was killed while wiping out a Japanese machine-gun nest in the Solomons, was immortalized by Frank Loesser in "The Ballad of Rodger Young."
R odger Wilton Young was born in 1918 in Tiffin, Ohio. His family moved to Clyde shortly before the start of World War II. He joined the Army in January 1938, and served in the South Pacific.
Rodger joined Company B 148th Infantry (the Fremont Company) of the Ohio National Guard in January 1938. At that time Rodger, who was always small, was 5'2" tall and weighed 125 pounds - one of the smallest men in the outfit. In October 1940 the Guard unit was activated as part of the 37th Infantry Division under Major General Robert Beightler. The company trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania. Rodger served as an instructor on the rifle range, won marksmanship medals, and was a sergeant and squad leader when the company left the United States for the South Pacific.
The unit went first to the Fiji Islands and then to New Guinea in the Solomon Islands. Rodger suffered from poor hearing, the result of an incident during a high school basketball game and aggravated by the sound of gunfire at the firing range. Concerned that he would not hear an important order or some significant sound in the jungle during a mission, he asked to be demoted back to the rank of private and have someone else lead the squad.
On July 31, 1943, a hidden Japanese machine gun nest pinned down Rodger's squad on the island of New Guinea. Rodger, determined to destroy the nest, crept closer and threw grenades. He was killed, but his actions allowed his squad to escape, and the Japanese suffered several casualties. For this action Rodger Young was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Governor of Ohio, Frank J. Lausche, proclaimed March 25, 1945 as "Rodger W. Young Day" in Ohio. On that day a celebration was held in Fremont, Ohio honoring Rodger and his gallantry. The days activities culminated in the dedication of Fremonts Water Works Park as Rodger W. Young Memorial Park.
In 1949 Youngs remains were returned to the United States and he is now buried in McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Ohio.
CITATION:
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Place and date: On New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 31 July 1943. Entered service at: Clyde, Ohio. Birth: Tiffin, Ohio. G.O. No.: 3, 6 January 1944. Citation: On 31 July 1943, the infantry company of which Pvt. Young was a member, was ordered to make a limited withdrawal from the battle line in order to adjust the battalion's position for the night. At this time, Pvt. Young's platoon was engaged with the enemy in a dense jungle where observation was very limited. The platoon suddenly was pinned down by intense fire from a Japanese machinegun concealed on higher ground only 75 yards away. The initial burst wounded Pvt. Young. As the platoon started to obey the order to withdraw, Pvt. Young called out that he could see the enemy emplacement, whereupon he started creeping toward it. Another burst from the machinegun wounded him the second time. Despite the wounds, he continued his heroic advance, attracting enemy fire and answering with rifle fire. When he was close enough to his objective, he began throwing handgrenades, and while doing so was hit again and killed. Pvt. Young's bold action in closing with this Japanese pillbox and thus diverting its fire, permitted his platoon to disengage itself, without loss, and was responsible for several enemy casualties.
Visit Rodger Young Memorial Park
The Ballad of Rodger Young
by
PFC Frank Loesser No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry.
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.
Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.
Caught in ambush lay a company of riflemen--
Just grenades against machine guns in the gloom--
Caught in ambush till this one of twenty riflemen
Volunteered, volunteered to meet his doom.
Volunteered, Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
In the everlasting annals of the Infantry
Glows the last deed of Private Rodger Young.
It was he who drew the fire of the enemy
That a company of men might live to fight;
And before the deadly fire of the enemy
Stood the man, stood the man we hail tonight.
On the island of New Georgia in the Solomons,
Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell
That beneath the silent coral of the Solomons,
Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered well.
Sleeps a man, Rodger Young,
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
In the everlasting spirit of the Infantry
Breathes the spirit of Private Rodger Young.
No, they've got no time for glory in the Infantry,
No, they've got no use for praises loudly sung,
But in every soldier's heart in all the Infantry
Shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young.
Shines the name--Rodger Young!
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
To the everlasting glory of the Infantry
Lives the story of Private Rodger Young.
From the liner notes of The Voices of Westpoint record album:
Private Rodger Young, a native of Tiffin, Ohio, was a member of the 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for the supreme sacrifice which he made on July 31st, 1943, during the battle for the Solomon Islands. This arrangement of Frank Loesser's simple and direct song of commemoration was created for the Cadet Glee Club by CWO Boots. Audio: RealPlayer format (680KB) (Glee Club, 1956-58, soloist: William Webb '57)
Audio: Windows Media (asf) format (677KB) (Glee Club, 1956-58, soloist: William Webb '57)
Audio: Windows Media (wma) format (677KB) (Glee Club, 1956-58, soloist: William Webb '57)
Audio: MP3 format (4.2MB) (Glee Club, 1956-58, soloist: William Webb '57)
Audio: RealPlayer format (Texas Jim Robertson)
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