March 25 is National Medal of Honor Day. It celebrates the unwavering courage of our bravest heroes in the face of battle.
In honor of that, we thought we’d highlight the life of the late Medal of Honor recipient and Texas native George H. O’Brien Jr.
O’Brien was born in Fort Worth in 1926. He joined the U.S. Merchant Marines for two years after high school toward the end of World War II. After the war, he attended college and earned a degree in geology. But a year before he graduated in 1950, he also enlisted in the U.S. Marines.
Two years later, O’Brien was taking charge on the battlefields of Korea as a Marine second lieutenant. He was the head of a rifle platoon and no stranger to mustering courage. But his mettle was tested even further on the morning of October 27, 1952, as enemy forces ramped up an attack.
Leaping from a trench in the face of heavy gunfire, mortar and artillery explosions, O’Brien led his men up the hill they’d been trying to take from enemy forces. O’Brien was shot through the arm and slammed to the ground several times from nearby explosions. But he continued the charge, stopping only to help another wounded Marine just before hurtling a barrage of grenades into enemy bunkers.
It’s said O’Brien killed at least three enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat that morning. And despite his injuries, he refused to be evacuated and kept fighting alongside his men for hours. When the dust had settled, O’Brien and his Marines emerged victorious.
A year later to the day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented O’Brien with the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony.
A dozen or so years later, O’Brien retired from the military. He returned to Texas and put his degree to use as a geologist in the petroleum industry.
O’Brien, who died at 78 in 2005, also held the Purple Heart with gold star, the United Nations Service Medal and the Korean Service Medal with two bronze stars. A month after his death, the Texas House and Senate both passed resolutions honoring O’Brien. And in 2008, a statue in his likeness was installed at the Big Springs Veterans Administration, where he volunteered much of his time.
As we pause to reflect on the bravery of our heroes this National Medal of Honor Day, Veteran Energy would also like to salute George H. O’Brien Jr. for his courage and sacrifice.
