“Salomon mowed down the human wave of Japanese, suffering multiple gunshot wounds in the process.”

By John Rust 

The vast majority of dentists spend their working life examining and fixing teeth, never once putting their lives on the line for their patients.

Captain Ben Salomon, however, was not like the vast majority of dentists.

A graduate of the University of Southern California Dental School in 1937, he was drafted into the U.S. Army three years later. Beginning as an infantry private, he became a distinguished marksman and machine gunner. Salomon would also practice his dentistry skills on the men in his unit.

In 1942, Salomon was commissioned a first lieutenant and reassigned to the Army Dental Corps. He spent two years at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii before being deployed with the allied invasion force for Saipan. There he volunteered to take the place of a battalion surgeon who had been killed in a mortar attack.

On July 7, nearly 5,000 Japanese soldiers launched a suicidal banzai charge against U.S. forces on the island. Before long, Captain Salomon’s aid station was filled with around 30 wounded GIs. Several Japanese broke through the American lines and made it to Salomon’s tent.

That’s when the Wisconsin-born dentist sprung into action. Salomon killed an enemy soldier who had bayoneted one of the wounded. Four more enemy soldiers breached the tent — Salomon kicked one, shot another and bayoneted a third. One of the wounded Americans shot and killed the fourth.

With more enemy soldiers approaching, Salomon ordered the wounded to make for the regimental aid station. To cover their retreat, he rushed out of the medical tent, rifle in hand, and took over a machine gun position after its crew had been killed.

Salomon mowed down the human wave of Japanese, suffering multiple gunshot wounds in the process. So many enemy soldiers fell before him that Salomon, despite his injuries, moved his machine gun back at least four times in order to get clear shots of the next wave.

When the banzai attack was finally defeated, a relief force was sent to Salomon’s aid station. They found the heroic dentist slumped dead over his machine gun with the bodies of nearly one hundred Japanese soldiers lying before him. Salomon had been riddled with 76 bullets. A surgeon who later examined his body concluded that 24 of his wounds occurred before he died.

While it would seem Salomon’s incredible act of bravery and self-sacrifice would make him a candidate for the Medal of Honor, Major General George Griner, the commanding officer of the 27^th Infantry Division, rejected the recommendation for the award. The reason: Salomon’s actions violated the Geneva Convention that no medical officer can bear arms against the enemy.

Repeated attempts were made after the war to award the commendation to Salomon. It was not until 1998 that the effort gained traction. After learning of Salomon’s story, USC Dental School alumnus Dr. Robert West campaigned for his award. He garnered the support of Major General Patrick Sculley, the chief of the Army Dental Corps, and finally in 2002, President George W. Bush posthumously presented Captain Ben Salomon with the Medal of Honor.

John Rust is the author of the new book Weird and Interesting Stuff from World War II from which this article was excerpted.