Medal of Honor Action Place: Tinian Island, Marianas Islands
Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Browning automatic rifleman serving with the 1st Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division, during the battle for enemy Japanese-held Tinian Island, Marianas Islands, 30 July 1944. As a member of a platoon assigned the mission of clearing the remaining Japanese troops from dugouts and pillboxes along a treeline, Pvt. Ozbourn, flanked by two men on either side, was moving forward to throw an armed hand grenade into a dugout when a terrific blast from the entrance severely wounded the four men and himself. Unable to throw the grenade into the dugout and with no place to hurl it without endangering the other men, Pvt. Ozbourn unhesitatingly grasped it close to his body and fell upon it, sacrificing his own life to absorb the full impact of the explosion, but saving his comrades. His great personal valor and unwavering loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Pvt. Ozbourn and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Medal of Honor Recipient Joseph W. Ozbourn
Additional Details
Accredited to: Illinois
Awarded Posthumously: Yes
Born: October 24, 1919, Herrin, Williamson County, IL, United States
Died: July 28, 1944, Tinian Island, Mariana Islands
Buried: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) (MH) (F-77), Honolulu, HI, United States