Clarence Byrle Craft

Broke through the Japanese defence at Hen Hill on Okinawa

Clarence Byrle Craft served as a rifleman in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 382nd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division. On 31 May 1945, his unit was ordered to advance against Hen Hill, a pivotal position in the Japanese defensive line on Okinawa. For nearly two weeks, repeated assaults had been repulsed with heavy casualties. Craft and five other soldiers moved ahead of Company G to locate the enemy positions. Rifle and machine-gun fire, followed by a barrage of grenades, wounded three men and pinned the others down.

Craft rose into view and attacked alone, firing at enemy movement as he advanced up the slope. His attack drew Japanese defenders back toward their trenches and allowed the assault to continue. At the crest, he threw grenades into nearby positions. As other American troops came up the hill, they supplied him with additional explosives, which he hurled into enemy positions beyond the crest. Craft continued through the fighting despite wounds, helping break the resistance on the hill. His Medal of Honor citation credited his fearless attack with a decisive role in the collapse of the defensive position.

Born in San Bernardino, California, on 23 September 1921, Craft entered the Army at Santa Ana in September 1944. He received the Medal of Honor from President Harry S. Truman at the White House on 12 December 1945. He later attained the rank of corporal. Craft died on 28 March 2002 and was buried at Fayetteville National Cemetery in Arkansas.

Citation: “He was a rifleman when his platoon spearheaded an attack on Hen Hill, the tactical position on which the entire Naha-Shuri-Yonaburu line of Japanese defense on Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, was hinged. For 12 days our forces had been stalled, and repeated, heavy assaults by 1 battalion and then another had been thrown back by the enemy with serious casualties. With 5 comrades, Pfc. Craft was dispatched in advance of Company G to feel out the enemy resistance. The group had proceeded only a short distance up the slope when rifle and machinegun fire, coupled with a terrific barrage of grenades, wounded 3 and pinned down the others. Against odds that appeared suicidal, Pfc. Craft launched a remarkable 1-man attack. He stood up in full view of the enemy and began shooting with deadly marksmanship wherever he saw a hostile movement.”

Sources 1. U.S. Army. “Craft, Clarence B.,” World War II Medal of Honor recipients, full-text citation. 2. U.S. Department of Defense. “Medal of Honor Monday: Army Cpl. Clarence B. Craft.” 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. “Clarence Byrle Craft,” recipient profile. 4. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. “Clarence Byrle Craft.”