Edward Gómez

He shielded four fellow Marines from a deadly grenade blast.

Edward Gómez was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on 10 August 1932. He attended Omaha High School and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on 11 August 1949. Following training at San Diego and Camp Pendleton, he went to Korea with the 7th Replacement Draft. He served as a private first class in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division during the Korean War.

On 14 September 1951, Gómez carried ammunition for a machine-gun squad supporting an assault on Hill 749. He repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to keep the weapon supplied as the Marines advanced against fortified positions.

When the squad prepared for a counterattack, he entered an abandoned trench to find a new position for the gun. A grenade landed between him and the weapon. Gómez warned the men nearby, picked up the grenade and dived into a ditch, absorbing the explosion. He died protecting his comrades, who subsequently repelled the attacking force.

His parents received his posthumous Medal of Honor on 6 July 1952 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Omaha. He is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery in his hometown. His citation honors both his sustained work under fire and his final sacrifice.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an ammunition bearer in Company E, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Boldly advancing with his squad in support of a group of riflemen assaulting a series of strongly fortified and bitterly defended hostile positions on Hill 749, Pfc. Gomez consistently exposed himself to the withering barrage to keep his machine gun supplied with ammunition during the drive forward to seize the objective. As his squad deployed to meet an imminent counterattack, he voluntarily moved down an abandoned trench to search for a new location for the gun and, when a hostile grenade landed between himself and his weapon, shouted a warning to those around him as he grasped the activated charge in his hand. Determined to save his comrades, he unhesitatingly chose to sacrifice himself and, diving into the ditch with the deadly missile, absorbed the shattering violence of the explosion in his body. By his stouthearted courage, incomparable valor, and decisive spirit of self-sacrifice, Pfc. Gomez inspired the others to heroic efforts in subsequently repelling the outnumbering foe, and his valiant conduct throughout sustained and enhanced the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.