WORLD WAR II HOSPITAL CORPSMEN

World War II and the Years Following

During World War II, a total of 15 Navy enlisted men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; of this number , seven were hospital corpsmen. Members of the Hospital Corps received 820 major awards and citations (an honor of unique distinction since none of them bore arms). Other personal medals-the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star-were awarded to hospital corpsmen by the tens and hundreds, almost too numerous to count. On February 22, 1945, on the summit of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, along with six marines, pharmacists mate John Bradley proudly participated in the raising of our flag, a scene reproduced thousands of times. The Marine Corps memorial symbolizes this event.