Private First Class Eugene Arnold Obregon, A Marine's Story
Private First Class Eugene Arnold Obregon, A Marine's Story
Private First Class Eugene Arnold Obregon was born on November 12, 1930, in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in June 1948 and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps that December, committing himself to military service at the outset of adulthood.
Following his enlistment, Private First Class Obregon trained as a fireman and spent his early years assigned to the Marine Corps Supply Depot in Barstow, California. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he volunteered for combat duty. He was retrained as an ammunition bearer, transferred to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, and deployed to Korea, arriving at the port of Pusan as United Nations forces prepared for major offensive operations.
On September 26, 1950, during the assault to recapture Seoul, Private First Class Obregon’s unit came under intense enemy fire. Observing a fellow Marine fall wounded in an exposed position, he immediately left his place of relative cover and moved forward through heavy fire, armed only with a pistol.
Reaching the casualty, Obregon placed himself between the wounded Marine and the enemy, using his own body as a shield. He returned fire with both his pistol and the wounded Marine’s carbine, effectively pinning down the enemy while other Marines organized and executed the evacuation. Throughout the engagement, he continued to engage hostile forces at close range, fully aware of the danger to his own life.
Private First Class Eugene Arnold Obregon was mortally wounded during the action and died shortly after the successful evacuation of the wounded Marine. For his conspicuous gallantry, unwavering courage, and selfless devotion to a fellow Marine in the face of overwhelming enemy fire, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He is laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. His actions remain a lasting example of the Marine Corps’ highest traditions of valor, sacrifice, and loyalty to one another in combat.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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