Ben Salomon's Medal of Honor [16:33]

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0:00 · On June 7th, 1944, organized resistance
0:03 · by the Imperial Japanese Army on the
0:05 · island of Saipan had virtually
0:06 · collapsed. The battle had been raging
0:08 · for 22 days, and the belleaguered
0:11 · Japanese garrison once some 31,000
0:13 · strong, had been driven back by the
0:15 · combined forces of the United States
0:17 · Army, Marines, and Navy to a tiny corner
0:19 · of the island. Further defense was
0:22 · feutal, but the commanding general,
0:24 · Yositsugo Saito, refused to surrender
0:26 · and instead gave a chilling last
0:28 · command. Despite the bitterness of
0:30 · defeat, we pledged seven lives to repay
0:33 · our country. What he meant was that all
0:36 · the surviving officers, men, and even
0:38 · civilian employees of the Imperial
0:40 · Japanese Army and Navy on the island
0:42 · were expected to die the next day in a
0:44 · suicide attack in which each was
0:46 · expected to kill seven Americans. They
0:50 · planned a mass yokusai or human swarm of
0:53 · some 3,000 men, the largest of what the
0:56 · Americans called bonsai attacks of the
0:58 · war. In the action that followed, three
1:00 · Americans would be awarded medals of
1:02 · honor for acts of extreme bravery. But
1:04 · one of those would raise controversy to
1:06 · the point that it was delayed in its
1:08 · award for some 58 years. It is history
1:12 · that deserves to be remembered.
1:19 · Ben Solomon was the only child of
1:21 · middle-class Jewish parents. Born
1:23 · September 1st, 1914 in Milwaukee,
1:26 · Wisconsin. Described as athletic and
1:28 · popular with his classmates, he
1:30 · graduated from Shorewood High School in
1:32 · Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood in 1932.
1:35 · A boy scout, he had achieved the rank of
1:37 · Eagle Scout. He attended a local
1:39 · Milwaukee University, Marquette, but
1:41 · transferred to the University of
1:43 · Southern California. He wanted to become
1:45 · a dentist from an early age and secured
1:47 · entry into the USC dental school. Would
1:50 · have been difficult at the time. The
1:51 · University of Southern California
1:53 · operated a quotota system called
1:55 · numerous clauses that limited the number
1:57 · of Jewish students allowed entry into
1:59 · the medical law and dental schools.
2:01 · Still, he gained admission and graduated
2:03 · in 1937. He went into dental practice in
2:06 · California.
2:08 · In November of 1940, in anticipation of
2:10 · war, the United States began the first
2:12 · peacetime draft in the nation's history.
2:15 · Ben, then 26 years old, was one of the
2:18 · first to be drafted. He was assigned to
2:20 · the infantry, a private in the 102nd
2:22 · Infantry Regiment. He was a good
2:24 · soldier, according to the Army Medical
2:26 · historian. After basic training, Ben
2:28 · joined the 102nd Infantry Regiment and
2:29 · quickly proved to be a natural soldier
2:31 · and leader. He won awards as an expert
2:34 · rifle and pistol marksman and his
2:35 · commanding officer stated that he was
2:37 · the best all-around soldier in the
2:39 · regiment. He was promoted to sergeant
2:42 · and made head of a machine gun section.
2:44 · However, he was still a dentist. Dr.
2:47 · Carl Jopst DDS explains at the same time
2:50 · he was giving informal dental checkups
2:52 · and cleanings to the other men in his
2:54 · battalion. Word got around and he was
2:56 · commissioned into the dental corps in
2:58 · 1942.
3:00 · Apparently eager to shoot the enemy
3:02 · rather than fix teeth, Solomon tried to
3:04 · refuse this commission. His commanding
3:06 · officer in the 102nd sought instead to
3:08 · gain him a commission as a second
3:09 · lieutenant in the infantry, but the army
3:11 · was short of dentists and he was
3:13 · commissioned as a first lieutenant in
3:14 · the army medical corps in 1942.
3:18 · He was made regimental dentist of the
3:20 · 105th Infantry Regiment, part of the
3:22 · 27th Infantry Division. HistoryNet
3:25 · described the position in Hawaii as a
3:27 · fairly cushy job that promised little
3:29 · combat action. Despite not being a
3:31 · requirement for an army dentist, Solomon
3:34 · was known for going on runs and hikes
3:35 · and other physical training with the
3:37 · soldiers of the battalion. Captain
3:39 · Edmund Love, the 27th Regimental
3:41 · Historian, said of him, "He wallowed in
3:43 · the dirt and the mud. He made the long
3:45 · hot hikes. He fired on the range." The
3:48 · regiment's commander, Colonel Leonard
3:50 · Bishop, said of him, "Bin Sullivan was
3:53 · the best instructor in infantry tactics
3:54 · we ever had. He gave everyone who ever
3:57 · met him a real lift. He had a way of
3:59 · inspiring people to do things that they
4:00 · might not have done otherwise. I think
4:02 · it was because he himself was the most
4:04 · vital man most of us ever met." Solomon
4:08 · could have stayed out of combat, but
4:09 · when the regiment was sent to the bloody
4:11 · fight on the island of Saipan in mid
4:13 · June 1944, one of the regimental
4:15 · surgeons was injured. And on June 22nd,
4:17 · Solomon volunteered to take his place.
4:20 · Historyet writes, "A natural leader,
4:22 · probably because of his down-to-earth
4:24 · demeanor and innate courage, he quickly
4:26 · earned the loyalty of the battalion
4:28 · medics. One of his men, Tech 3 Vincent
4:30 · Denolo, described him as a swell guy. He
4:33 · pitched in like one of the boys in the
4:34 · aid station. Though Solomon had never
4:37 · attended medical school, he proved
4:38 · himself to be a highly competent combat
4:40 · surgeon. Indeed, he enjoyed his new job
4:43 · so much that he confided to one friend
4:44 · his intention to become a medical doctor
4:46 · after the war. He told me he wanted to
4:49 · be the best surgeon that ever lived, his
4:51 · friend later recalled. The night of July
4:54 · 6th, 1944, Solomon was in charge of an
4:56 · aid station just 50 yards behind the
4:59 · line.
5:01 · Larry Dur, a curator at the US World War
5:03 · II Museum, described the 105th position
5:05 · that night. After three weeks of
5:07 · fighting on Saipan, twothirds of the
5:09 · island was in US hands. The Second
5:11 · Marine Division, the US Army's 27th
5:13 · Infantry Division, and the Fourth Marine
5:14 · Division had advanced northward from
5:16 · landing beaches in the southwest and
5:18 · driven the Japanese into the northern
5:20 · corner of the island. First and Second
5:23 · Battalion's 105th Regiment, 27th
5:25 · Infantry Division, were the westernmost
5:27 · units of the line by the evening of July
5:29 · 6th.
5:30 · Lieutenant Colonel William O'Brien's
5:32 · first battalion was dug in about 250
5:35 · yards from the beach and Major Edward
5:37 · McCarthy's second battalion held the
5:38 · line from the first battalion's left
5:40 · flank to the beach. O'Brien was aware of
5:43 · a gap in the line between first and
5:44 · second battalion and requested
5:46 · reinforcements, but none were available.
5:48 · O'Brien tried to shore up the hole in
5:50 · the line by positioning his anti-tank
5:52 · weapons to cover the gap. Marine Corps
5:54 · Captain John C. Chapen had been part of
5:56 · the difficult fighting with the Second
5:58 · Marine Division. experience had taught
6:00 · him that the Japanese were as dangerous
6:01 · in defeat as they were in victory. He
6:04 · later wrote once the second marine
6:06 · division became core reserve, it was
6:08 · obvious to General Smith that the time
6:09 · was ripe for a bonsai attack. He duly
6:12 · warned all units to be alert and paid a
6:14 · personal visit on 6th July to General
6:16 · Grryer of the 27th Infantry Division to
6:18 · stress the likelihood of an attack
6:20 · coming down the coastline on the flat
6:21 · ground of the Tanpang plane. The
6:24 · Japanese commander, Lieutenant General
6:26 · Yoshitsugu Seaitto, knew that the end
6:28 · was near. In his final orders, he told
6:30 · his men, "We now have no material with
6:33 · which to fight, and our artillery for
6:34 · attack has been completely destroyed."
6:36 · Japan explained, "General Seaitto was
6:39 · now cornered in his sixth and last
6:41 · command post, a miserable cave in
6:43 · Paradise Valley, north of Tennipag. The
6:46 · valley was constantly raked by American
6:47 · artillery and naval gunfire. He had left
6:50 · only fragmentaryary remnants of his
6:51 · troops. He was himself sick, hungry, and
6:54 · wounded. After giving orders for one
6:56 · last fanatical bonsai charge, he decided
6:58 · to commit Harry Kerry in his cave. At
7:01 · 10:00 a.m. on 6th July, facing east and
7:04 · crying, "Taco bonsai! Long lived the
7:07 · emperor 10,000 ages." He drew his own
7:10 · blood first with his own sword, and then
7:12 · his agitant shot him and Admiral Nagumo
7:14 · in the head with a pistol. but not
7:17 · before he said, "I will meet my staff in
7:19 · Yakasuni Shrine, 3:00 a.m. 7 July." That
7:22 · was to be the time ordered for the
7:24 · commencement of the final attack.
7:27 · This final attack was a matter of
7:29 · Imperial Japanese Army strategy. In his
7:32 · final order, Seto quoted the Singh Kun
7:34 · or instructions for the battlefield, a
7:36 · pocket-sized military code that had been
7:38 · issued to all soldiers of the Imperial
7:40 · Japanese Army. I will never suffer the
7:42 · disgrace of being taken alive and I will
7:45 · offer up the courage of my soul and
7:47 · calmly rejoice in living by the eternal
7:49 · principle. The Kurs writes, "Just after
7:52 · dark, the Japanese troops began
7:53 · assembling for their final attack. Beer
7:56 · and saki was consumed in large
7:57 · quantities and all through the night of
7:59 · July 6th, Japanese soldiers were probing
8:00 · the American front line, searching for
8:02 · any weak spot that they could find. The
8:05 · attack was desperate." The website, The
8:07 · Daily Chronicles of World War II
8:09 · explains, "On this night in 1944 on
8:11 · Saipan, 3,000 Japanese troops realizing
8:15 · that they could not defeat the invaders
8:17 · hurled themselves against American lines
8:19 · in the largest bonsai charge of the
8:20 · war." Chapen called it a fearful charge
8:23 · of flesh and fire, savage and primitive.
8:26 · Some of the enemy were armed only with
8:28 · rocks or knives mounted on a pole. The
8:31 · Kurs writes, "It was about 0445 on the
8:34 · morning of July 7th when they attacked.
8:36 · First came the Japanese officers, waving
8:38 · their swords over their heads and
8:39 · screaming at the top of their lungs,
8:41 · closely followed by thousands of troops.
8:44 · They came right through the gap between
8:45 · the first and second battalions. Major
8:47 · McCarthy described the attack as looking
8:49 · like a cattle stampede from a western
8:51 · movie, except the Japanese just kept on
8:53 · coming. While they took massive
8:56 · casualties in the face of Army and
8:57 · Marine fire, the mass attack inflicted
8:59 · heavy casualties of its own. Lieutenant
9:01 · Colonel O'Brien, having implored his men
9:03 · not to give an inch of ground, emptied
9:05 · his two pistols into the attacking men
9:07 · and then climbed aboard a jeep with a 50
9:09 · caliber machine gun. When his body was
9:12 · found, the bodies of 30 Japanese
9:13 · soldiers lay around the jeep. Private
9:16 · Tom Baker fired his rifle until he was
9:18 · out of ammunition and then used it as a
9:20 · club until it was broken to pieces.
9:22 · Wounded, he insisted on being left
9:24 · behind. He was given a pistol with eight
9:26 · rounds. The bodies of eight dead
9:28 · Japanese soldiers were found near his
9:30 · body. The Japanese poured through the
9:32 · gap between the battalions and finally
9:34 · came to Bin Sullivan's aid station. And
9:36 · a word citation describes his actions.
9:39 · In the first 30 minutes of the attack,
9:41 · approximately 30 wounded soldiers
9:42 · walked, crawled, or were carried into
9:44 · Captain Solomon's aid station, and the
9:46 · small tent soon filled with wounded men.
9:48 · As the perimeter began to be overrun, it
9:50 · became increasingly difficult for
9:52 · Captain Solomon to work on the wounded.
9:54 · He then saw a Japanese soldier
9:56 · bayonetting one of the wounded soldiers
9:57 · lying near the tent. Firing from a
10:00 · squatting position, Captain Solomon
10:01 · quickly killed the enemy soldier. Then,
10:03 · as he turned his attention back to the
10:05 · wounded, two more Japanese soldiers
10:06 · appeared in the front entrance of the
10:08 · tent. As these enemy soldiers were
10:10 · killed, four more crawled under the tent
10:12 · walls. Rushing them, Captain Solomon
10:14 · kicked the knife out of the hand of one,
10:16 · shot another, and bayonetted a third.
10:18 · Captain Solomon butted the fourth enemy
10:20 · soldier in the stomach and a wounded
10:22 · comrade then shot and killed the enemy
10:23 · soldier. Realizing the gravity of the
10:26 · situation, Captain Solomon ordered the
10:27 · wounded to make their way as best they
10:29 · could back to the regimental aid station
10:31 · while he attempted to hold off the enemy
10:32 · until they were clear. Captain Solomon
10:34 · then grabbed a rifle from one of the
10:36 · wounded and rushed out of the tent.
10:38 · After four men were killed while manning
10:39 · a machine gun, Captain Solomon took
10:41 · control of it. Solomon shouted to the
10:44 · enlisted medics of the station. I'll
10:46 · hold them off until you get them to
10:47 · safety. I'll see you later. The Japanese
10:51 · attack penetrated nearly a thousand
10:53 · yards, but after some 15 hours of often
10:55 · desperate handto-h hand fighting, the
10:56 · attackers were nearly completely wiped
10:58 · out. The 105th suffered terribly. Chapen
11:01 · writes, "It had been a ghastly day. The
11:04 · 105th Infantry's two battalions had
11:05 · suffered a shocking 918 casualties while
11:08 · killing 2,295
11:10 · Japanese. One of the marine artillery
11:12 · battalions had 127 casualties, but
11:15 · accounted for 322 of the enemy. The
11:18 · losses killed and wounded for the two
11:20 · battalions of the 105th amounted to 83%.
11:24 · Only two officers of the first battalion
11:26 · of the 105th survived. Major McCarthy
11:29 · commanding the second battalion had
11:30 · survived, but all the company commanders
11:32 · and the entire battalion staff had been
11:34 · killed. But it had been worse for the
11:37 · attacking Japanese. Japan writes that a
11:39 · final count of the Japanese dead reached
11:41 · the staggering total of 4,311,
11:44 · some due to previous shellfire, but the
11:46 · vast majority killed in the bonsai
11:48 · charge. Captain Love was among those who
11:50 · surveyed the battlefield after. He
11:52 · recalled, "We have been walking through
11:54 · piles of dead when the general gave a
11:56 · sudden start and then stepped over to
11:58 · the figure of a man who was bent over
12:00 · the barrel of a heavy machine gun. Very
12:02 · quickly, almost before I saw what he was
12:04 · doing, the general took out a knife and
12:06 · cut the Red Cross brassard from Ben
12:08 · Solomon's arm. Then he straightened up
12:10 · and looked around. There were 98
12:13 · Japanese bodies piled up in front of
12:15 · that gun position. Solomon had killed so
12:17 · many men that he had been forced to move
12:19 · the gun four different times in order to
12:21 · get a clear field of fire. There was
12:24 · something else that we noted, too. There
12:26 · were 76 bullet holes in Solomon's body.
12:29 · When we called a doctor over to examine
12:31 · him, we were told that 24 of the wounds
12:33 · had been suffered before Solomon died.
12:35 · There were no witnesses, but it wasn't
12:37 · hard to put the story together. One
12:39 · could easily visualize Ben Solomon,
12:41 · wounded and bleeding, trying to drag
12:43 · that gun a few more feet so he'd have a
12:44 · new field of fire. The blood was on the
12:47 · ground, and the marks plainly indicated
12:48 · how hard it must have been for him,
12:50 · especially in that last move. The Los
12:53 · Angeles Times noted, "According to the
12:55 · Army Dental Corps official history,
12:57 · published in 2000, more than 18,000 Army
13:00 · dentists served in World War II, Solomon
13:03 · was one of only 20 to die in battle. It
13:06 · is unclear how many of the wounded men
13:08 · Solomon had saved by holding the enemy
13:10 · in the brave Stand."
13:13 · The island was declared secured on July
13:15 · 9th, although sporadic resistance and
13:17 · the horror of Japanese civilians
13:18 · throwing themselves off of cliffs to
13:20 · avoid being captured by Americans
13:22 · continued. It had been a desperate
13:24 · struggle, but capturing the island
13:25 · allowed air bases from which bombers
13:27 · could attack mainland Japan. Of some
13:29 · 31,000 Japanese defenders of the island,
13:32 · only around 1,800 had been captured
13:34 · alive. Solomon, O'Brien, and Baker were
13:38 · all nominated for the Medal of Honor.
13:40 · O'Brien and Baker were awarded the
13:42 · medal, but Solomon was not. The division
13:46 · commander, Major General George Grryer,
13:48 · wrote, "I am deeply sorry I cannot
13:50 · approve the award for this medal to
13:51 · Captain Solomon, although he richly
13:54 · deserves it." At the time of his death,
13:56 · this officer was in the medical
13:57 · services. Under the rules of the Geneva
14:00 · Convention, to which the United States
14:01 · subscribes, no medical officer can bear
14:04 · arms against the enemy. Solomon was not
14:08 · even awarded a Purple Heart.
14:10 · But interpretations of the convention
14:12 · developed over time, and the Office of
14:14 · the Chief of Military History, believing
14:15 · the denial of the award to be an error,
14:18 · submitted the recommendation again in
14:19 · 1951, arguing that the prohibition
14:22 · against medical staff bearing arms was
14:23 · only for offensive operations and that
14:25 · it was allowed in defensive staff and
14:27 · patients. The award was again refused,
14:30 · this time because the time limit for
14:32 · submitting World War II awards had
14:34 · passed. The surgeon general of the
14:36 · United States Army again recommended
14:38 · Solomon in 1969, but no action was
14:41 · taken. Ben Solomon's actions seemed
14:43 · destined to go unrecognized.
14:46 · In 1997, Dr. Robert West, a graduate of
14:50 · the University of Southern California
14:51 · Dental School, was doing research for a
14:53 · chapter in a book that commemorated the
14:55 · 100th anniversary of the school entitled
14:58 · Tommy Trojan Goes to War when he
15:00 · stumbled upon the then nearly forgotten
15:02 · story of Ben Solomon. He found it tragic
15:06 · that he had never been awarded that
15:07 · Medal of Honor and so he began a letterw
15:09 · writing campaign to Army Brass and
15:11 · members of Congress. On May 1st, 2002,
15:14 · President George W. Bush finally awarded
15:17 · the long overdue honor. He said, "No one
15:20 · who knew him was with us this afternoon.
15:22 · Yet America will always know Benjamin
15:25 · Lewis Solomon by the citation to be read
15:27 · shortly. It tells of a young man who was
15:30 · a match for hundred, a person of true
15:33 · valor, who now receives the honor due
15:35 · him by a grateful country."
15:40 · I hope you enjoyed watching this episode
15:42 · of The History Guy. And if you did,
15:43 · please feel free to like and subscribe
15:44 · and share the history guy with your
15:46 · friends. And if you also believe that
15:48 · history deserves to be remembered, then
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15:57 · Patreon. You can also check out our
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16:19 · Heat. Heat.

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--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00	·	On June 7th, 1944, organized resistance
0:03	·	by the Imperial Japanese Army on the
0:05	·	island of Saipan had virtually
0:06	·	collapsed. The battle had been raging
0:08	·	for 22 days, and the belleaguered
0:11	·	Japanese garrison once some 31,000
0:13	·	strong, had been driven back by the
0:15	·	combined forces of the United States
0:17	·	Army, Marines, and Navy to a tiny corner
0:19	·	of the island. Further defense was
0:22	·	feutal, but the commanding general,
0:24	·	Yositsugo Saito, refused to surrender
0:26	·	and instead gave a chilling last
0:28	·	command. Despite the bitterness of
0:30	·	defeat, we pledged seven lives to repay
0:33	·	our country. What he meant was that all
0:36	·	the surviving officers, men, and even
0:38	·	civilian employees of the Imperial
0:40	·	Japanese Army and Navy on the island
0:42	·	were expected to die the next day in a
0:44	·	suicide attack in which each was
0:46	·	expected to kill seven Americans. They
0:50	·	planned a mass yokusai or human swarm of
0:53	·	some 3,000 men, the largest of what the
0:56	·	Americans called bonsai attacks of the
0:58	·	war. In the action that followed, three
1:00	·	Americans would be awarded medals of
1:02	·	honor for acts of extreme bravery. But
1:04	·	one of those would raise controversy to
1:06	·	the point that it was delayed in its
1:08	·	award for some 58 years. It is history
1:12	·	that deserves to be remembered.
1:19	·	Ben Solomon was the only child of
1:21	·	middle-class Jewish parents. Born
1:23	·	September 1st, 1914 in Milwaukee,
1:26	·	Wisconsin. Described as athletic and
1:28	·	popular with his classmates, he
1:30	·	graduated from Shorewood High School in
1:32	·	Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood in 1932.
1:35	·	A boy scout, he had achieved the rank of
1:37	·	Eagle Scout. He attended a local
1:39	·	Milwaukee University, Marquette, but
1:41	·	transferred to the University of
1:43	·	Southern California. He wanted to become
1:45	·	a dentist from an early age and secured
1:47	·	entry into the USC dental school. Would
1:50	·	have been difficult at the time. The
1:51	·	University of Southern California
1:53	·	operated a quotota system called
1:55	·	numerous clauses that limited the number
1:57	·	of Jewish students allowed entry into
1:59	·	the medical law and dental schools.
2:01	·	Still, he gained admission and graduated
2:03	·	in 1937. He went into dental practice in
2:06	·	California.
2:08	·	In November of 1940, in anticipation of
2:10	·	war, the United States began the first
2:12	·	peacetime draft in the nation's history.
2:15	·	Ben, then 26 years old, was one of the
2:18	·	first to be drafted. He was assigned to
2:20	·	the infantry, a private in the 102nd
2:22	·	Infantry Regiment. He was a good
2:24	·	soldier, according to the Army Medical
2:26	·	historian. After basic training, Ben
2:28	·	joined the 102nd Infantry Regiment and
2:29	·	quickly proved to be a natural soldier
2:31	·	and leader. He won awards as an expert
2:34	·	rifle and pistol marksman and his
2:35	·	commanding officer stated that he was
2:37	·	the best all-around soldier in the
2:39	·	regiment. He was promoted to sergeant
2:42	·	and made head of a machine gun section.
2:44	·	However, he was still a dentist. Dr.
2:47	·	Carl Jopst DDS explains at the same time
2:50	·	he was giving informal dental checkups
2:52	·	and cleanings to the other men in his
2:54	·	battalion. Word got around and he was
2:56	·	commissioned into the dental corps in
2:58	·	1942.
3:00	·	Apparently eager to shoot the enemy
3:02	·	rather than fix teeth, Solomon tried to
3:04	·	refuse this commission. His commanding
3:06	·	officer in the 102nd sought instead to
3:08	·	gain him a commission as a second
3:09	·	lieutenant in the infantry, but the army
3:11	·	was short of dentists and he was
3:13	·	commissioned as a first lieutenant in
3:14	·	the army medical corps in 1942.
3:18	·	He was made regimental dentist of the
3:20	·	105th Infantry Regiment, part of the
3:22	·	27th Infantry Division. HistoryNet
3:25	·	described the position in Hawaii as a
3:27	·	fairly cushy job that promised little
3:29	·	combat action. Despite not being a
3:31	·	requirement for an army dentist, Solomon
3:34	·	was known for going on runs and hikes
3:35	·	and other physical training with the
3:37	·	soldiers of the battalion. Captain
3:39	·	Edmund Love, the 27th Regimental
3:41	·	Historian, said of him, "He wallowed in
3:43	·	the dirt and the mud. He made the long
3:45	·	hot hikes. He fired on the range." The
3:48	·	regiment's commander, Colonel Leonard
3:50	·	Bishop, said of him, "Bin Sullivan was
3:53	·	the best instructor in infantry tactics
3:54	·	we ever had. He gave everyone who ever
3:57	·	met him a real lift. He had a way of
3:59	·	inspiring people to do things that they
4:00	·	might not have done otherwise. I think
4:02	·	it was because he himself was the most
4:04	·	vital man most of us ever met." Solomon
4:08	·	could have stayed out of combat, but
4:09	·	when the regiment was sent to the bloody
4:11	·	fight on the island of Saipan in mid
4:13	·	June 1944, one of the regimental
4:15	·	surgeons was injured. And on June 22nd,
4:17	·	Solomon volunteered to take his place.
4:20	·	Historyet writes, "A natural leader,
4:22	·	probably because of his down-to-earth
4:24	·	demeanor and innate courage, he quickly
4:26	·	earned the loyalty of the battalion
4:28	·	medics. One of his men, Tech 3 Vincent
4:30	·	Denolo, described him as a swell guy. He
4:33	·	pitched in like one of the boys in the
4:34	·	aid station. Though Solomon had never
4:37	·	attended medical school, he proved
4:38	·	himself to be a highly competent combat
4:40	·	surgeon. Indeed, he enjoyed his new job
4:43	·	so much that he confided to one friend
4:44	·	his intention to become a medical doctor
4:46	·	after the war. He told me he wanted to
4:49	·	be the best surgeon that ever lived, his
4:51	·	friend later recalled. The night of July
4:54	·	6th, 1944, Solomon was in charge of an
4:56	·	aid station just 50 yards behind the
4:59	·	line.
5:01	·	Larry Dur, a curator at the US World War
5:03	·	II Museum, described the 105th position
5:05	·	that night. After three weeks of
5:07	·	fighting on Saipan, twothirds of the
5:09	·	island was in US hands. The Second
5:11	·	Marine Division, the US Army's 27th
5:13	·	Infantry Division, and the Fourth Marine
5:14	·	Division had advanced northward from
5:16	·	landing beaches in the southwest and
5:18	·	driven the Japanese into the northern
5:20	·	corner of the island. First and Second
5:23	·	Battalion's 105th Regiment, 27th
5:25	·	Infantry Division, were the westernmost
5:27	·	units of the line by the evening of July
5:29	·	6th.
5:30	·	Lieutenant Colonel William O'Brien's
5:32	·	first battalion was dug in about 250
5:35	·	yards from the beach and Major Edward
5:37	·	McCarthy's second battalion held the
5:38	·	line from the first battalion's left
5:40	·	flank to the beach. O'Brien was aware of
5:43	·	a gap in the line between first and
5:44	·	second battalion and requested
5:46	·	reinforcements, but none were available.
5:48	·	O'Brien tried to shore up the hole in
5:50	·	the line by positioning his anti-tank
5:52	·	weapons to cover the gap. Marine Corps
5:54	·	Captain John C. Chapen had been part of
5:56	·	the difficult fighting with the Second
5:58	·	Marine Division. experience had taught
6:00	·	him that the Japanese were as dangerous
6:01	·	in defeat as they were in victory. He
6:04	·	later wrote once the second marine
6:06	·	division became core reserve, it was
6:08	·	obvious to General Smith that the time
6:09	·	was ripe for a bonsai attack. He duly
6:12	·	warned all units to be alert and paid a
6:14	·	personal visit on 6th July to General
6:16	·	Grryer of the 27th Infantry Division to
6:18	·	stress the likelihood of an attack
6:20	·	coming down the coastline on the flat
6:21	·	ground of the Tanpang plane. The
6:24	·	Japanese commander, Lieutenant General
6:26	·	Yoshitsugu Seaitto, knew that the end
6:28	·	was near. In his final orders, he told
6:30	·	his men, "We now have no material with
6:33	·	which to fight, and our artillery for
6:34	·	attack has been completely destroyed."
6:36	·	Japan explained, "General Seaitto was
6:39	·	now cornered in his sixth and last
6:41	·	command post, a miserable cave in
6:43	·	Paradise Valley, north of Tennipag. The
6:46	·	valley was constantly raked by American
6:47	·	artillery and naval gunfire. He had left
6:50	·	only fragmentaryary remnants of his
6:51	·	troops. He was himself sick, hungry, and
6:54	·	wounded. After giving orders for one
6:56	·	last fanatical bonsai charge, he decided
6:58	·	to commit Harry Kerry in his cave. At
7:01	·	10:00 a.m. on 6th July, facing east and
7:04	·	crying, "Taco bonsai! Long lived the
7:07	·	emperor 10,000 ages." He drew his own
7:10	·	blood first with his own sword, and then
7:12	·	his agitant shot him and Admiral Nagumo
7:14	·	in the head with a pistol. but not
7:17	·	before he said, "I will meet my staff in
7:19	·	Yakasuni Shrine, 3:00 a.m. 7 July." That
7:22	·	was to be the time ordered for the
7:24	·	commencement of the final attack.
7:27	·	This final attack was a matter of
7:29	·	Imperial Japanese Army strategy. In his
7:32	·	final order, Seto quoted the Singh Kun
7:34	·	or instructions for the battlefield, a
7:36	·	pocket-sized military code that had been
7:38	·	issued to all soldiers of the Imperial
7:40	·	Japanese Army. I will never suffer the
7:42	·	disgrace of being taken alive and I will
7:45	·	offer up the courage of my soul and
7:47	·	calmly rejoice in living by the eternal
7:49	·	principle. The Kurs writes, "Just after
7:52	·	dark, the Japanese troops began
7:53	·	assembling for their final attack. Beer
7:56	·	and saki was consumed in large
7:57	·	quantities and all through the night of
7:59	·	July 6th, Japanese soldiers were probing
8:00	·	the American front line, searching for
8:02	·	any weak spot that they could find. The
8:05	·	attack was desperate." The website, The
8:07	·	Daily Chronicles of World War II
8:09	·	explains, "On this night in 1944 on
8:11	·	Saipan, 3,000 Japanese troops realizing
8:15	·	that they could not defeat the invaders
8:17	·	hurled themselves against American lines
8:19	·	in the largest bonsai charge of the
8:20	·	war." Chapen called it a fearful charge
8:23	·	of flesh and fire, savage and primitive.
8:26	·	Some of the enemy were armed only with
8:28	·	rocks or knives mounted on a pole. The
8:31	·	Kurs writes, "It was about 0445 on the
8:34	·	morning of July 7th when they attacked.
8:36	·	First came the Japanese officers, waving
8:38	·	their swords over their heads and
8:39	·	screaming at the top of their lungs,
8:41	·	closely followed by thousands of troops.
8:44	·	They came right through the gap between
8:45	·	the first and second battalions. Major
8:47	·	McCarthy described the attack as looking
8:49	·	like a cattle stampede from a western
8:51	·	movie, except the Japanese just kept on
8:53	·	coming. While they took massive
8:56	·	casualties in the face of Army and
8:57	·	Marine fire, the mass attack inflicted
8:59	·	heavy casualties of its own. Lieutenant
9:01	·	Colonel O'Brien, having implored his men
9:03	·	not to give an inch of ground, emptied
9:05	·	his two pistols into the attacking men
9:07	·	and then climbed aboard a jeep with a 50
9:09	·	caliber machine gun. When his body was
9:12	·	found, the bodies of 30 Japanese
9:13	·	soldiers lay around the jeep. Private
9:16	·	Tom Baker fired his rifle until he was
9:18	·	out of ammunition and then used it as a
9:20	·	club until it was broken to pieces.
9:22	·	Wounded, he insisted on being left
9:24	·	behind. He was given a pistol with eight
9:26	·	rounds. The bodies of eight dead
9:28	·	Japanese soldiers were found near his
9:30	·	body. The Japanese poured through the
9:32	·	gap between the battalions and finally
9:34	·	came to Bin Sullivan's aid station. And
9:36	·	a word citation describes his actions.
9:39	·	In the first 30 minutes of the attack,
9:41	·	approximately 30 wounded soldiers
9:42	·	walked, crawled, or were carried into
9:44	·	Captain Solomon's aid station, and the
9:46	·	small tent soon filled with wounded men.
9:48	·	As the perimeter began to be overrun, it
9:50	·	became increasingly difficult for
9:52	·	Captain Solomon to work on the wounded.
9:54	·	He then saw a Japanese soldier
9:56	·	bayonetting one of the wounded soldiers
9:57	·	lying near the tent. Firing from a
10:00	·	squatting position, Captain Solomon
10:01	·	quickly killed the enemy soldier. Then,
10:03	·	as he turned his attention back to the
10:05	·	wounded, two more Japanese soldiers
10:06	·	appeared in the front entrance of the
10:08	·	tent. As these enemy soldiers were
10:10	·	killed, four more crawled under the tent
10:12	·	walls. Rushing them, Captain Solomon
10:14	·	kicked the knife out of the hand of one,
10:16	·	shot another, and bayonetted a third.
10:18	·	Captain Solomon butted the fourth enemy
10:20	·	soldier in the stomach and a wounded
10:22	·	comrade then shot and killed the enemy
10:23	·	soldier. Realizing the gravity of the
10:26	·	situation, Captain Solomon ordered the
10:27	·	wounded to make their way as best they
10:29	·	could back to the regimental aid station
10:31	·	while he attempted to hold off the enemy
10:32	·	until they were clear. Captain Solomon
10:34	·	then grabbed a rifle from one of the
10:36	·	wounded and rushed out of the tent.
10:38	·	After four men were killed while manning
10:39	·	a machine gun, Captain Solomon took
10:41	·	control of it. Solomon shouted to the
10:44	·	enlisted medics of the station. I'll
10:46	·	hold them off until you get them to
10:47	·	safety. I'll see you later. The Japanese
10:51	·	attack penetrated nearly a thousand
10:53	·	yards, but after some 15 hours of often
10:55	·	desperate handto-h hand fighting, the
10:56	·	attackers were nearly completely wiped
10:58	·	out. The 105th suffered terribly. Chapen
11:01	·	writes, "It had been a ghastly day. The
11:04	·	105th Infantry's two battalions had
11:05	·	suffered a shocking 918 casualties while
11:08	·	killing 2,295
11:10	·	Japanese. One of the marine artillery
11:12	·	battalions had 127 casualties, but
11:15	·	accounted for 322 of the enemy. The
11:18	·	losses killed and wounded for the two
11:20	·	battalions of the 105th amounted to 83%.
11:24	·	Only two officers of the first battalion
11:26	·	of the 105th survived. Major McCarthy
11:29	·	commanding the second battalion had
11:30	·	survived, but all the company commanders
11:32	·	and the entire battalion staff had been
11:34	·	killed. But it had been worse for the
11:37	·	attacking Japanese. Japan writes that a
11:39	·	final count of the Japanese dead reached
11:41	·	the staggering total of 4,311,
11:44	·	some due to previous shellfire, but the
11:46	·	vast majority killed in the bonsai
11:48	·	charge. Captain Love was among those who
11:50	·	surveyed the battlefield after. He
11:52	·	recalled, "We have been walking through
11:54	·	piles of dead when the general gave a
11:56	·	sudden start and then stepped over to
11:58	·	the figure of a man who was bent over
12:00	·	the barrel of a heavy machine gun. Very
12:02	·	quickly, almost before I saw what he was
12:04	·	doing, the general took out a knife and
12:06	·	cut the Red Cross brassard from Ben
12:08	·	Solomon's arm. Then he straightened up
12:10	·	and looked around. There were 98
12:13	·	Japanese bodies piled up in front of
12:15	·	that gun position. Solomon had killed so
12:17	·	many men that he had been forced to move
12:19	·	the gun four different times in order to
12:21	·	get a clear field of fire. There was
12:24	·	something else that we noted, too. There
12:26	·	were 76 bullet holes in Solomon's body.
12:29	·	When we called a doctor over to examine
12:31	·	him, we were told that 24 of the wounds
12:33	·	had been suffered before Solomon died.
12:35	·	There were no witnesses, but it wasn't
12:37	·	hard to put the story together. One
12:39	·	could easily visualize Ben Solomon,
12:41	·	wounded and bleeding, trying to drag
12:43	·	that gun a few more feet so he'd have a
12:44	·	new field of fire. The blood was on the
12:47	·	ground, and the marks plainly indicated
12:48	·	how hard it must have been for him,
12:50	·	especially in that last move. The Los
12:53	·	Angeles Times noted, "According to the
12:55	·	Army Dental Corps official history,
12:57	·	published in 2000, more than 18,000 Army
13:00	·	dentists served in World War II, Solomon
13:03	·	was one of only 20 to die in battle. It
13:06	·	is unclear how many of the wounded men
13:08	·	Solomon had saved by holding the enemy
13:10	·	in the brave Stand."
13:13	·	The island was declared secured on July
13:15	·	9th, although sporadic resistance and
13:17	·	the horror of Japanese civilians
13:18	·	throwing themselves off of cliffs to
13:20	·	avoid being captured by Americans
13:22	·	continued. It had been a desperate
13:24	·	struggle, but capturing the island
13:25	·	allowed air bases from which bombers
13:27	·	could attack mainland Japan. Of some
13:29	·	31,000 Japanese defenders of the island,
13:32	·	only around 1,800 had been captured
13:34	·	alive. Solomon, O'Brien, and Baker were
13:38	·	all nominated for the Medal of Honor.
13:40	·	O'Brien and Baker were awarded the
13:42	·	medal, but Solomon was not. The division
13:46	·	commander, Major General George Grryer,
13:48	·	wrote, "I am deeply sorry I cannot
13:50	·	approve the award for this medal to
13:51	·	Captain Solomon, although he richly
13:54	·	deserves it." At the time of his death,
13:56	·	this officer was in the medical
13:57	·	services. Under the rules of the Geneva
14:00	·	Convention, to which the United States
14:01	·	subscribes, no medical officer can bear
14:04	·	arms against the enemy. Solomon was not
14:08	·	even awarded a Purple Heart.
14:10	·	But interpretations of the convention
14:12	·	developed over time, and the Office of
14:14	·	the Chief of Military History, believing
14:15	·	the denial of the award to be an error,
14:18	·	submitted the recommendation again in
14:19	·	1951, arguing that the prohibition
14:22	·	against medical staff bearing arms was
14:23	·	only for offensive operations and that
14:25	·	it was allowed in defensive staff and
14:27	·	patients. The award was again refused,
14:30	·	this time because the time limit for
14:32	·	submitting World War II awards had
14:34	·	passed. The surgeon general of the
14:36	·	United States Army again recommended
14:38	·	Solomon in 1969, but no action was
14:41	·	taken. Ben Solomon's actions seemed
14:43	·	destined to go unrecognized.
14:46	·	In 1997, Dr. Robert West, a graduate of
14:50	·	the University of Southern California
14:51	·	Dental School, was doing research for a
14:53	·	chapter in a book that commemorated the
14:55	·	100th anniversary of the school entitled
14:58	·	Tommy Trojan Goes to War when he
15:00	·	stumbled upon the then nearly forgotten
15:02	·	story of Ben Solomon. He found it tragic
15:06	·	that he had never been awarded that
15:07	·	Medal of Honor and so he began a letterw
15:09	·	writing campaign to Army Brass and
15:11	·	members of Congress. On May 1st, 2002,
15:14	·	President George W. Bush finally awarded
15:17	·	the long overdue honor. He said, "No one
15:20	·	who knew him was with us this afternoon.
15:22	·	Yet America will always know Benjamin
15:25	·	Lewis Solomon by the citation to be read
15:27	·	shortly. It tells of a young man who was
15:30	·	a match for hundred, a person of true
15:33	·	valor, who now receives the honor due
15:35	·	him by a grateful country."
15:40	·	I hope you enjoyed watching this episode
15:42	·	of The History Guy. And if you did,
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