b. 10/05/1920 Armstrong, Iowa. d. 29/10/1943 Leyte, Philippines.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 28/10/1943 Dagami, Leyte, Philippines.
John F Thorson MOH
Thorson was the seventh of eight children born to Norwegian immigrants. He joined the U.S. Army from his birth city of Armstrong, Iowa in 1942, and by October 28, 1944, was serving as a private first class in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On that day, in Dagami, Leyte province, in the Philippines, Thorson was wounded while single-handedly attacking an enemy trench, then smothered the blast of an enemy-thrown hand grenade with his body. He successfully protected his fellow soldiers from the blast, and was immediately killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor nine months later, on July 19, 1945. His medal was presented to his father John Snr, on September 18, 1945 at Fort Omaha, Nebraska by Brigadier General Paul X. English.
MOH CITATION:
He was an automatic rifleman on 28 October 1944, in the attack on Dagami, Leyte, Philippine Islands. A heavily fortified enemy position consisting of pillboxes and supporting trenches held up the advance of his company. His platoon was ordered to outflank and neutralize the strongpoint. Voluntarily moving well out in front of his group, Pvt. Thorson came upon an enemy fire trench defended by several hostile riflemen and, disregarding the intense fire directed at him, attacked singlehandedly. He was seriously wounded and fell about six yards from the trench. Just as the remaining 20 members of the platoon reached him, one of the enemy threw a grenade into their midst. Shouting a warning and making a final effort, Pvt. Thorson rolled onto the grenade and smothered the explosion with his body. He was instantly killed, but his magnificent courage and supreme self-sacrifice prevented the injury and possible death of his comrades and remain with them as a lasting inspiration.
BURIAL LOCATION: KEOKUK NATIONAL CEMETERY, KEOKUK, IOWA.
SECTION D, SITE 71.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
