John Essebagger Jr.

He held a flank alone to give his comrades time to withdraw.

John Essebagger Jr. was born in Holland, Michigan, on 29 October 1928. He attended local schools and graduated from Holland High School. A reservist, he was recalled to the Army in September 1950 and reached Korea early the following year. He served as a corporal in Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

On 25 April 1951, near Popsu-dong, his company was helping cover the withdrawal of another battalion. Essebagger belonged to one of two squads holding key ground on the company's right flank. They had already resisted repeated attacks when a much larger Chinese force threatened to overwhelm them and cut the withdrawal route.

As the outnumbered soldiers began falling back, Essebagger remained behind. He fired on the attackers and then left the relative protection of his position, advancing while firing his weapon and throwing grenades. His deliberate exposure disrupted the attack and bought time for the other squads to reach safer ground. He continued until mortally wounded.

He was twenty-two when he died. His widow received the posthumous Medal of Honor at the Pentagon on 26 March 1952 from Secretary of the Army Frank Pace. Essebagger was buried in Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland. The community's museum and memorials preserve the story of the local schoolboy and reservist who held his position so that other men could withdraw.

Medal of Honor citation

Cpl. Essebagger, a member of Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Committed to effect a delaying action to cover the 3d Battalion’s withdrawal through Company A, Cpl. Essebagger, a member of one of two squads maintaining defensive positions in key terrain and defending the company’s right flank, had participated in repulsing numerous attacks. In a frenzied banzai charge the numerically superior enemy seriously threatened the security of the planned route of withdrawal and the isolation of the small force. Badly shaken, the grossly outnumbered detachment started to fall back and Cpl. Essebagger, realizing the impending danger, voluntarily remained to provide security for the withdrawal. Gallantly maintaining a one-man stand, Cpl. Essebagger raked the menacing hordes with crippling fire and, with the foe closing on the position, left the comparative safety of his shelter and advanced in the face of overwhelming odds, firing his weapon and hurling grenades to disconcert the enemy and afford time for displacement of friendly elements to more tenable positions. Scorning the withering fire and bursting shells, Cpl. Essebagger continued to move forward, inflicting destruction upon the fanatical foe until he was mortally wounded. Cpl. Essebagger’s intrepid action and supreme sacrifice exacted a heavy toll in enemy dead and wounded, stemmed the onslaught, and enabled the retiring squads to reach safety. His valorous conduct and devotion to duty reflected lasting glory upon himself and was in keeping with the noblest traditions of the infantry and the U.S. Army.

Source: Congressional Medal of Honor Society.