Ben L. Salomon

Benjamin L. Salomon
Born(1914-09-01)September 1, 1914
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
DiedJuly 7, 1944(1944-07-07) (aged 29)
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, South Pacific Mandate
Place of burial
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1940–1944
RankCaptain
Unit2nd Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment
27th Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor
Purple Heart

Benjamin Lewis Salomon (September 1, 1914 – July 7, 1944) was a United States Army dentist during World War II, assigned as a front-line surgeon. During the Battle of Saipan, when the Japanese started overrunning his hospital, he stood a rear-guard action in which he had no hope of personal survival, allowing the safe evacuation of the wounded, killing as many as 98 enemy troops before being killed himself. In 2002, Salomon posthumously received the Medal of Honor. He is one of only three dental officers to have received the medal, the others being Alexander Gordon Lyle and Weedon Osborne,[1][2] and is one of three Jewish American soldiers who received the medal for World War II.

  1. ^ "American Dental Association". Journal of the American Dental Association. 68: 168. 1964. ISSN 0002-8177. OCLC 1777821. During the 100 years that officers have been eligible, two dental officers have been awarded the Medal: Alexander Gordan Lyle and ...
  2. ^ William T. Bowers. "Ben Salomon". Medal of Honor recipients: United States Army Medical Department. Office of Medical History, Office of the Surgeon General. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2006-07-27.