{"id":4081,"date":"2019-09-01T14:16:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-01T05:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/?p=4081"},"modified":"2019-09-01T21:06:46","modified_gmt":"2019-09-01T12:06:46","slug":"obregon-usmc-moh-korean-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nedforney.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/01\/obregon-usmc-moh-korean-war\/","title":{"rendered":"We’ll Go Down Fighting Like Marines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Marines\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t“Hang on, Bert. I’m coming to get you!\u201d
\n– Medal of Honor recipient PFC Gene Obregon to his buddy, PFC Bert Johnson, during a firefight in Seoul\n

Athletic, witty, and hard working, Eugene \u201cGene\u201d Obregon, was the kind of kid everyone liked.\u00a0Born on November 12, 1930, in Los Angeles, California,\u00a0he graduated from LA\u2019s Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1948, and five months before his 18th birthday asked\u00a0his father if he could join the Marines.<\/p>\n

His father reluctantly agreed. \u201cGene said he owed it to our country,\u201d his mother, Henrietta Obregon, told William Lansford in the 2001 Leatherneck Magazine<\/em> article, \u201cAn American Story.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHow could we refuse,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By August 1950, the 19-year-old Marine was in Korea serving with Company G, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the next two months of fighting in the hills, rice paddies, and streets of Korea, Obregon, a machine gun ammunition carrier, would distinguish himself as a dedicated, loyal, and courageous member of his unit.<\/p>\n

\"PFC

PFC Gene Obregon, USMC (PC: US Marine Corps)<\/p><\/div>\n

Above and Beyond<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On September 26, 1950, the young Marine went above and beyond the call of duty.<\/p>\n

As Obregon and his company were fighting their way through Seoul’s barricaded streets, sniper-filled alleys, and bombed-out buildings, a North Korean unit, undetected by the Americans, unleashed a deadly hail of small arms, machine gun, and mortar fire.<\/p>\n

One of the first men to get hit was PFC Bert Johnson, a Grand Prairie, Texas, native and close friend of Obregon.<\/p>\n

Lying in the street and bleeding from wounds in his head, arms, and legs, Johnson heard Obregon yell out, \u201cHang on, Bert, I\u2019m coming to get you.\u201d<\/p>\n

With bullets flying, mortar rounds exploding, and his buddy screaming, \u201cStay where you are!” Obregon, armed only with his .45 pistol, jumped up, and in total disregard for his own safety, ran down the middle of the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Within seconds, Obregon had reached Johnson and dragged him into a nearby ditch, where he began bandaging his wounds.<\/p>\n

What happened next shocked and amazed every Marine in the area.<\/p>\n

As a platoon of enemy soldiers suddenly charged towards the two men, Obregon opened up on the onrushing troops, and in a desperate attempt to save his buddy, placed his body between Johnson and the hail of enemy bullets erupting all around them.<\/p>\n

\"Marines

Marines at a baricade in Seoul (PC: USMC Archives)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Final Moments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With enemy soldiers now just feet away, Obregon, totally out of ammo, reached up, pulled a grenade from his belt, and hurled it towards the enemy. The exposed Marine was instantly hit. \u201cThat\u2019s when the machine gun got him,\u201d a fellow platoon member recalled.<\/p>\n

Shot twice in the face, the young PFC who had done everything he possibly could to save his friend, died instantly. Moments later, the Marines in his company wiped out the remaining North Korean attackers and rescued Johnson.<\/p>\n

For his “courageous fighting spirit, fortitude and loyal devotion to duty\u201d and for saving the life of PFC Johnson, Obregon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The devastating news of Obregon\u2019s death reached his parents days later.<\/p>\n

“When my dad saw it [the telegram], he passed out,\u201d Obregon\u2019s sister, Virginia La Carra, told the LA Times in 1994. \u201c He took it very, very hard.\u201d Obregon\u2019s father never recovered from the loss of his only son and died of a heart attack five years later. “He always told me Gene was waiting for him,” his wife, Henrietta, said.<\/p>\n

\"PFC

PFC Gene Obregon (left) and PFC Ralph Summers, with their .30cal machine gun,
overlooking the Naktong River. The photo was taken on August 19, 1950, just five weeks
before Obregon\u2019s death. (PC: Sgt. Frank Kerr, USMC)<\/p><\/div>\n

Postscript:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Just two days before his death, PFC Obregon, in what would be his last letter to his parents, told them that Tony Medrano, his high school friend who had enlisted with him in 1948 and was a favorite of the family, had been killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him die,\u201d the grief-stricken teenager wrote. The two Marines had been inseparable during their two years together in the Marines.<\/p>\n

Nearly a year later, on August 30, 1951, Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Obregon received their son\u2019s posthumous MOH from Secretary of the Navy Daniel Kimball.<\/p>\n

In a fitting and emotional tribute to the man who had saved his life, Bert Johnson, recovered from his wounds and now a SSgt., attended the ceremony.<\/p>\n

When asked by a reporter what his buddy had said in the final moments of his life, Johnson replied, \u201cHe told me, `Bert, if we\u2019re going down, we\u2019ll go down fighting like Marines.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Today we pay tribute to PFC Obregon, his family, and all the brave men of 1st Marine Division who served, sacrificed, and died during the Korean War. We will never forget you!<\/p>\n

Freedom isn\u2019t free.<\/p>\n

\"Eugene

Eugene Obregon\u2019s final resting place at Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA (PC: findagrave)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"1948\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t1948 MCRD graduation photo, with arrow pointing to Obregon (PC: Leatherneck Magazine)\n\t

Feature\/top photo:\u00a0<\/strong>Marines fighting their way through Seoul, September 1950. (PC: USMC Archives)<\/p>\n\t