Richard B. Anderson

He shielded three fellow Marines from a fatal grenade blast.

Richard Beatty Anderson earned the Medal of Honor on Roi Island in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, on February 1, 1944. A private first class in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division, he was fighting Japanese forces when a grenade slipped from his hands.

Anderson had entered a shell crater occupied by three other Marines and was preparing to throw the grenade at an enemy position. With too little time to retrieve and throw the armed weapon, he covered it with his body. He died while protecting his companions from the blast.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, on June 26, 1921, Anderson received the Medal of Honor posthumously. Rear Admiral J. A. Taffinder presented the award to his parents in Seattle. Anderson is buried at New Tacoma Cemetery in Tacoma.

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 4th Marine Division during action against enemy Japanese forces on Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1 February 1944. Entering a shell crater occupied by three other marines, Pfc. Anderson was preparing to throw a grenade at an enemy position when it slipped from his hands and rolled toward the men at the bottom of the hole. With insufficient time to retrieve the armed weapon and throw it, Pfc. Anderson fearlessly chose to sacrifice himself and save his companions by hurling his body upon the grenade and taking the full impact of the explosion. His personal valor and exceptional spirit of loyalty in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.