Eugene Arnold Obregon (November 12, 1930 – September 26, 1950) was a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who was

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...

ly awarded the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

' highest military decoration for valor — the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

— for sacrificing his life to save that of a wounded comrade during the

Second Battle of Seoul The Second Battle of Seoul was a battle that resulted in United Nations forces recapturing Seoul from the North Koreans in late September 1950. Approaching Seoul Before the battle, North Korea had just one understrength division in the city, ...

. On September 26, 1950, Private First Class Obregon was fatally wounded by enemy

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

fire while using his body to shield a wounded fellow Marine.

Early years

Eugene Arnold Obregon, who was of Mexican American descent, was born on November 12, 1930, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He attended elementary school and Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles before enlisting in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

on June 7, 1948, at the age of 17. Following

recruit training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot (commonly referred to as MCRD) San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and t ...

, California, he was assigned to the Marine Corps Supply Depot in

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the I ...

, where he served as a

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also a ...

until the outbreak of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He was transferred to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and served as a

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

carrier. His unit departed the United States on July 14, 1950, and arrived at

Pusan, Korea Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

on August 3, 1950. He was in action by August 8, 1950, along the Naktong River, and participated in the

Inchon landing The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved s ...

. Then, on September 26, 1950, during the assault on the city of Seoul he was killed in action while using his body to shield a wounded fellow Marine. For this action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor was presented to PFC Obregon's parents by

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Daniel A. Kimball on August 30, 1951. 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 Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

, North Carolina.

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor citation:

Decorations

In addition to the Medal of Honor, PFC Obregon also was posthumously awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, Presidential Unit Citation,

Korean Service Medal The Korean Service Medal (KSM) is a military award for service in the United States Armed Forces and was established November 8, 1950 by executive order of President Harry Truman. The Korean Service Medal is the primary US military award for se ...

with three bronze stars and the

United Nations Service Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

Foundation

The Eugene A. Obregon Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation is building a Medal of Honor Monument complex located in the heart of Los Angeles's historic birthplace known as " El Pueblo". Work began in 2009 on a 36' long, curved granite wall that bears the inscribe names of all of the nearly 3,500 Medal Of Honor recipients awarded throughout American history. The organization also plans to erect a bronze sculpture of Obregon in recognition of Latino recipients and his sacrifice for his fellow Marines.

Namesakes and honors

A US Navy ship, a school, a Marine Corps

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

post, and three parks have been named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Eugene Obregon. *The

Maritime Prepositioning ship Strategic sealift ships are part of the United States Military Sealift Command's (MSC) prepositioning program. There are currently 17 ships in the program, strategically positioned around the world to support the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corp ...

USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon (T-AK-3006) entered into service in January 1985. *In 1966, the new Eugene A. Obregon Elementary School in

Pico Rivera, California Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

, was named for Eugene A. Obregon. *Obregon Park, just outside the main gate of the

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is a United States Marine Corps supply and maintenance installation located in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow, in San Bernardino County, Southern California. Its mission is to rebuild and repair ground-comb ...

Yermo Annex, in

, is named in honor of Obregon. *The

East Los Angeles Interchange The East Los Angeles Interchange is an interchange complex located in Boyle Heights, California, approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles. With its southern portion handling over 550,000 vehicles per day (2008 AADT), it is the ...

was named the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange, to honor Eugene A. Obregon. *A monument in Pershing Square, in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

is dedicated in honor of Obregon.LATimes article from above. *Obregon Road, on

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

has been named for Obregon. *On Flag Day 2001, Eugene Obregon Park in

was dedicated in his memory, in June. *Th
Eugene A. Obregon Park
, in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, is the first

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

reclaimed water Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produce ...

and

sustainable landscaping Sustainable landscaping is a modern type of gardening or landscaping that takes the environmental issue of sustainability into account. According to Loehrlein in 2009 this includes design, construction and management of residential and commercial g ...

designed

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

, and it honors Eugene A. Obregon.http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/blog/story/los_angeles_county_sees_first_green_park/ The South Los Angeles Report . accessed 7/27/2010

References