During this week in 1928, a future Medal of Honor recipient is born in Hawaii. Herbert K. Pililaau never lived to see his home become a state. Instead, when Pililaau was killed in action, Hawaii was still only a United States territory. Surely no one expected the quiet Hawaiian to one day earn the Medal of Honor? He wasn’t very social, didn’t drink and always seemed to be reading his Bible. He apparently considered refusing the draft because of concerns about killing other human beings. In the end, though, he decided to serve. In September 1951, he was in Korea with the 23rd Infantry Regiment. United States forces had just helped to win the Battle of Bloody Ridge, but now they were trying to win another position from the North Koreans. Pililaau wouldn’t survive the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. His company was trying to hold a key position on that ridge, but the enemy was coming at the Americans repeatedly. The North Koreans had more ammunition than the […]
Source: This Day in History: The quiet guy who earned the Medal of Honor | Tara Ross
DAVE DOES HISTORY 
Leave a comment