PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
EUGENE ARNOLD OBREGON, USMC (DECEASED) 

 

Medal of Honor Citation

Private First Class Eugene A. Obregon, 19, of Los Angeles, California, earned the Medal of Honor in Korea for sacrificing his life to save that of a wounded comrade.

The Nation's highest decoration for valor was awarded to the young Marine posthumously for extraordinary heroism on 26 September 1950, at Seoul, when he shielded a fallen friend with his body until fatally wounded by enemy machine gun fire. The Medal of Honor was presented to his parents by Secretary of the Navy Daniel A. Kimball on 30 August 1951.

Born 12 November 1930, in Los Angeles, California, Eugene Arnold Obregon attended elementary schools there and later Roosevelt High School before enlisting in the Marine Corps on 7 June 1948, at the age of 17.

Following recruit training at San Diego, California, he was assigned to the Marine Corps Supply Depot, Barstow, California, where he served as a fireman until the outbreak of the war in Korea. He was transferred to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and served as a machine gun ammunition carrier. His unit departed the United States on 14 July 1950 and arrived at Pusan, Korea, on 3 August 1950.

He was in action by 8 August 1950, along the Naktong River, and participated in the lnchon landing. Then, on 26 September, during the assault on the city of Seoul, came the act in which he gave his life.

The wounded comrade was PFC Bert M. Johnson, 19, of Grand Prairie, Texas. He was hospitalized, recovered, and returned to duty in the United States at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, PFC Obregon also was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Korean Service Medal with three bronze stars.

Korean War Medal of Honor