Eugene Arnold Obregon
Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps
Medal of Honor Recipient
Korean War

Eugene Arnold Obregon, who was of Mexican-American descent, was born on 12 November 1930 in Los Angeles, CA. He attended elementary school and high school at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps on 7 June 1948, at the age of 17.

Following recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA; he was assigned to the Marine Corps Supply Depot in Barstow, CA, where he served as a fireman until the outbreak of the war in Korea. He was transferred to the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade and served as a machine gun ammunition carrier. His unit departed the United States on 14 July and arrived at Pusan, Korea, on 3 August 1950.

He was in action by 8 August 1950, along the Naktong River, and participated in the Inchon landing. Then, on 26 September 1950, during the assault on the city of Seoul, he was killed in action while using his body to shield a wounded fellow Marine. The wounded comrade was PFC Bert M. Johnson, 19, of Grand Prairie, TX. He was hospitalized, recovered, and returned to duty in the United States at Camp Lejeune, NC.

For his heroic action and self-sacrifice, PFC Obregon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS EUGENE A. OBREGON
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company G, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces at Seoul, Korea, on 26 September 1950. While serving as an ammunition carrier of a machine gun squad in a Marine Rifle Company which was temporarily pinned down by hostile fire, Private First Class Obregon observed a fellow Marine fall wounded in the line of fire. Armed only with a pistol, he unhesitatingly dashed from his covered position to the side of the casualty. Firing his pistol with one hand as he ran, he grasped his comrades by the arm with his other hand and, despite the great peril to himself, dragged him to the side of the road. Still under enemy fire, he was bandaging the man's wounds when hostile troops of approximately platoon strength began advancing toward his position. Quickly seizing the wounded Marine's carbine, he placed his own body as a shield in front of him and lay there firing accurately and effectively into the hostile group until he himself was fatally wounded by enemy machine-gun fire. By his courageous fighting spirit, fortitude and loyal devotion to duty, Private First Class Obregon enabled his fellow Marines to rescue the wounded man and aided essentially in repelling the attack, thereby sustaining the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN

The Medal of Honor was presented to PFC Obregon's parents by Secretary of the Navy Daniel A. Kimball on 30 August 1951.

Other Medals and Awards

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

Purple Heart
Presidential Unit Citation
Korean Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars

Foundation

The Eugene A. Obregon Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation is working to erect a monument honoring Obregon, 40 Latino Medal of Honor recipients, and all Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. The group's goal was to see the monument dedicated on National Medal of Honor Day, 25 March 2010.

Namesakes and Honors

• The Maritime Prepositioning ship 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, CA, was named for Eugene A. Obregon.
• Obregon Park, just outside of the main gate of the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow Yermo Annex, in Barstow, CA, is named in honor of Obregon.
• The East Los Angeles Interchange was named the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange to honor Eugene A. Obregon.
• A monument in Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles is dedicated in honor of Obregon.
• Obregon Road on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has been named for Obregon.
• On Flag Day 2001, Eugene Obregon Park in Pico Rivera, CA, was dedicated in his memory.
• The Eugene A. Obregon Park, in East Los Angeles, is the first Los Angeles County reclaimed water and sustainable landscaping designed regional park, and it honors Eugene A. Obregon.

Death and Burial

Private First Class Eugene Arnold Obregon was killed in action on 26 September 1950. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA.