On this day in 1944, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Harold H. Moon has been described as a “plucky hero who didn’t know when to give up. . . and saved the lives of many of his comrades as a result.”
The Albuquerque-born Moon entered the Army in August 1942, and he spent the next two years serving in Hawaii, Australia, New Guinea, and the Philippines.
The last tour of duty in the Philippines was over, practically before it started. Unfortunately, his first day at Leyte would also be his last.
Our boys came under attack in the middle of the night as they were working to take and secure key beachheads. Many in Moon’s platoon were killed or wounded as they came under heavy fire.
Moon, himself, was in a forward position, and he’d been wounded, too. Given what followed, you have to wonder if he even noticed his wounds.
The hours that followed have been described as a “one-man, all-night stand” by Moon. He was firing at the enemy, but he was also exposing himself to their fire and taunting them in an effort to get them to reveal their locations.
“At 2:40 in the morning,” eyewitness Tech. Sgt. Verdun C. Myers described, “Pvt. Moon was wounded but continued to fight with aggressive spirit, insulting the Japs, calling to them to come and get him, and instilling confidence and spirit into the men of the platoon.”
Other eyewitnesses gave similar accounts.
“Pvt. Moon kept yelling insults at the Japs,” Pfc. John W. Ray recounted. “I saw him engage in a duel with a Japanese officer that lasted an hour. It was Pvt. Moon’s tommy gun against the Jap’s grenades. Finally, with plenty of insults paving the way, Pvt. Moon lured the officer into the open and killed him.”
Trouble came at dawn. The enemy was enraged that one man had held them off so successfully. As the sun came up, the entire enemy platoon charged. The remnants of the American force began falling back, with Moon covering the retreat.
His Medal citation describes the scene:
“By dawn his position, the focal point of the attack for more than four hours, was virtually surrounded. In a fanatical effort to reduce it and kill its defender, an entire platoon charged with fixed bayonets. Firing from a sitting position, Pvt. Moon calmly emptied his magazine into the advancing horde, killing 18 and repulsing the attack.”
He stood up to throw a grenade, but his luck had run out. He took a mortal hit at that moment.
His bravery had encouraged those around him, and Moon is credited with inspiring the successful repulse of the enemy that followed.
The area was later inspected, and Moon’s body was recovered. Nearly 200 dead enemy lay around him, including one across his legs and six more within a few yards of him.
“It was plainly evident that Pvt. Moon had done a magnificent job,” Lt. Col. James F. Pearsall, Jr. concluded.
Moon’s family would receive his Medal of Honor just over a year later.
Yet another member of the Greatest Generation, just doing what had to be done. Rest in peace, Sir.
Primary Sources:
Congressional Medal Awarded Posthumously to New Mexico Soldier (Clovis News-Journal; Nov. 21, 1945) (p. 9)
Congressional Medal of Honor Award Presented to Family of Ex-Soldier (Daily Breeze; Oct. 12, 1948) (p. 1)
Highest Medal for Man Who Lost Life (Albuquerque Trib.; Nov. 19, 1945) (p. 1)
In Good Company: New Mexico’s Past Medal of Honor Recipients: Pvt. Harold Moon Jr. (Santa Fe New Mexican; July 13, 2011) (p. D5)
Leyte Hero Wins Congress Medal Posthumously (Oakland Tribune; Nov. 19, 1945) (p. 2)
Medal of Honor citation (Harold H. Moon; WWII)
Posthumous Award is Presented to Hero’s Father (Modesto Bee; Nov. 10, 1945) (p. 9)
Richard Melzer & John Taylor, New Mexico in World War II (2021)
Richard Melzer, Buried Treasures: Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History (2007)
Comments