Rodger W. Young
Rodger Young was a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Early Life
Rodger Young was born in Tiffin, Ohio on April 28, 1918.[1] As a teenager he tried to participate in football, basketball, and baseball. Due to his small stature though his activity in football was null and was limited in basketball and baseball until he showed his determination and was put into a few basketball games. He suffered an injury in a basketball game that caused a head injury that dulled his senses. Struggling in high school because of his injury he eventually left high school to instead help support his family.[2]
Military Career
In 1938 he join the Ohio National Guard. At the time he joined he was 5'2" and weighed 125 pounds. He trained at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania. He served as a instructor of a rifle range and won marksmanship medals. He also achieved the rank of Sergeant and was a squad leader. He achieved this all the while hiding the severity of the effects from his high school head injury.
He was deployed to the Pacific Theater where he first went to the Fiji and Solomon Islands after they were already controlled. While on the islands Rodger Young trained his men to the best of his abilities. It came to the point though that he realized that his previous injury may cause problems in the chain of command and cause the death of his men. He decided to voluntarily ask for a demotion to the rank of private. His selfish act was at first thought to be an act of cowardice by his CO, but they later clarified it with each other.
Rodger Young would partake in Operation Cartwheel and would be tasked with capturing and holding an airstrip at Munda. During a patrol Rodger Young's platoon, under the command of Sergeant Walter Rigby, was ambushed by a hidden Japanese MG nest. The platooon was pinned down and had no way to effectively retreat or advance. After several people were wounded Rodger Young started a crawling advance to the MG nest. During his advance he suffered multiple wounds some immobilizing one of his arms. Despite his multiple wounds he continued his advanced and eventually reached fifteen feet in front of the enemy fortification. He then armed a grenade using one arm and his teeth to pull the pin. He then stood up into the hail of enemy bullets and threw the grenade. The grenade destroyed the fortification. At the cost of his own life Rodger Young saved fifteen of the twenty man patrol.