Franklin E. Sigler

He rushed enemy guns and carried three wounded men to safety

Franklin Earl Sigler was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, on 6 November 1924. He attended high school at Little Falls and enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 1943. After recruit training at Parris Island, he performed guard duty at the Charleston Navy Yard. He joined Company F, 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in April 1944 and sailed to Hawaii that July. Iwo Jima was his first combat campaign.

On Iwo Jima on 14 March 1945, Sigler took command of his squad after its leader became a casualty. He charged a gun position, destroyed its crew with grenades and then attacked enemy weapons concealed above it in caves and tunnels.

Severely wounded, he returned to his squad and directed machine-gun and rocket fire rather than accept evacuation. He also carried three wounded squad members behind the lines and resumed fighting until ordered to seek treatment.

President Harry S. Truman presented his Medal of Honor on 5 October 1945. After hospital treatment at Bethesda, Sigler was discharged in June 1946 because of the disabilities caused by his wounds, holding the rank of private first class. He returned to civilian life. He died in Newton, New Jersey, on 20 January 1995 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 2d Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the seizure of Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands on 14 March 1945. Voluntarily taking command of his rifle squad when the leader became a casualty, Pvt. Sigler fearlessly led a bold charge against an enemy gun installation which had held up the advance of his company for several days and, reaching the position in advance of the others, assailed the emplacement with hand grenades and personally annihilated the entire crew. As additional Japanese troops opened fire from concealed tunnels and caves above, he quickly scaled the rocks leading to the attacking guns, surprised the enemy with a furious one-man assault and, although severely wounded in the encounter, deliberately crawled back to his squad position where he steadfastly refused evacuation, persistently directing heavy machine-gun and rocket barrages on the Japanese cave entrances. Undaunted by the merciless rain of hostile fire during the intensified action, he gallantly disregarded his own painful wounds to aid casualties, carrying three wounded squad members to safety behind the lines and returning to continue the battle with renewed determination until ordered to retire for medical treatment. Stouthearted and indomitable in the face of extreme peril, Pvt. Sigler, by his alert initiative, unfaltering leadership, and daring tactics in a critical situation, effected the release of his besieged company from enemy fire and contributed essentially to its further advance against a savagely fighting enemy. His superb valor, resolute fortitude, and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice throughout reflect the highest credit upon Pvt. Sigler and the U.S. Naval Service.