John P. Fardy

He covered the grenade to protect his squadmates on Okinawa!

John Peter Fardy was born on August 15, 1922, in Chicago, Illinois. He served as a corporal and squad leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division during World War II.

He studied mechanical engineering for a year at the Illinois Institute of Technology and worked as a draftsman before entering the Marine Corps on May 8, 1943. After training in California, he sailed overseas that October. With the 1st Marines, he fought at Cape Gloucester and Peleliu before landing on Okinawa in April 1945. His Medal of Honor was presented to his parents in Chicago on September 15, 1946.

During the Okinawa campaign in May 1945, his squad came under heavy fire while advancing against fortified Japanese positions. Fardy placed his men along a drainage ditch. When an enemy grenade fell among them, he covered it with his body, shielding his comrades from the explosion.

Fardy died on May 7, 1945. His posthumous Medal of Honor recognized his immediate decision to protect his squad at the cost of his own life. He is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth, Illinois.

Official Medal of Honor citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a squad leader, serving with Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Islands, 7 May 1945. When his squad was suddenly assailed by extremely heavy small-arms fire from the front during a determined advance against strongly fortified, fiercely defended Japanese positions, Cpl.

Fardy temporarily deployed his men along a nearby drainage ditch. Shortly thereafter, an enemy grenade fell among the marines in the ditch. Instantly throwing himself upon the deadly missile, Cpl. Fardy absorbed the exploding blast in his own body, thereby protecting his comrades from certain and perhaps fatal injuries. Concerned solely for the welfare of his men, he willingly relinquished his own hope of survival that his fellow marines might live to carry on the fight against a fanatic enemy.

A stouthearted leader and indomitable fighter, Cpl. Fardy, by his prompt decision and resolute spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of certain death, had rendered valiant service, and his conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.