July 8th, 1944. 1430 hours. Tannipag plane, Saipan. Captain Edmund G. Love stood over a Browning M1917A1 heavy machine gun positioned in a shallow depression 30 yard behind the ruins of a field hospital tent. The gun’s cooling jacket was still warm 18 hours after the last shot had been fired.

A man’s body was slumped forward over the weapon, hands frozen on the T-shaped spade grips, right index finger still hooked inside the trigger guard. The body wore the tattered remains of a US Army medical officer’s uniform. A Red Cross armband, torn but visible, remained fastened to the left bicep. Captain Love counted the bodies arranged in front of the machine gun position.

98 Japanese soldiers lay in overlapping arcs, some stacked three deep where they had fallen trying to advance through the killing ground. The dead American officer’s name was Captain Benjamin Lewis Salomon. He was a dentist. He had killed 98 men to save 30 wounded soldiers who could not defend themselves.

and for the next 58 years the United States Army would refuse to acknowledge what he had done. The contradiction sat heavy in the afternoon heat. Dentists did not operate crews served weapons. Medical personnel wearing the Red Cross did not engage in offensive combat.

Officers of the dental corp were non-combatants protected under the 1929 Geneva Convention. Captain Love walked the perimeter of Salomon’s final position, noting the way the Japanese corpses form distinct windows, mechanically precise patterns of death created by sustained traversing fire from a fixed position. Four separate locations marked where Salomon had dragged the 47 kg machine gun setup to new firing points when bodies blocked his lanes of fire or when enemy movement forced tactical repositioning.

The medical examiner, who would arrive within the hour, would document 76 wounds on Salomon’s body. 24 received while he was alive and fighting, 52 inflicted after death by Japanese soldiers who passed his position in the final hours of the Banzai attack. The gun had been designed for a three-man crew. Salomon had operated it alone for more than 3 hours.

Benjamin Lewis Salomon graduated from the University of Southern California Dental School in 1937. He opened a private practice in Los Angeles. Patients called him Doc Ben. Appointments were booked 6 weeks in advance. He performed root canals and extractions and fitted dentures for middleclass families who paid in cash or installments.

Nothing about his civilian occupation suggested military aptitude, but Salomon had a habit that made him different from other dentists. Every Saturday morning, he drove to a shooting range in Burbank and fired 200 rounds through his personal rifles. He qualified as expert marksman with the M1 rifle in 1940, scoring 198 out of 200 possible points at Camp Roberts during National Guard training.

The qualification was the highest level awarded by the US Army. When officers asked why a dental student needed to shoot like infantry, Salomon gave the same answer every time. because my patients might need me to. The United States entered the war in December 1941. Salomon received his commission as first lieutenant in the Army Dental Corps in January 1942.

He reported to Fort, California for basic training. The dental corps training program lasted six weeks and focused on field sanitation, triage procedures, and mass casualty management. Weapons training was not included. Officers of the medical and dental corps were designated non-combatants under article 8 of the Geneva Convention.

They could carry personal sidearms for self-defense, but were prohibited from employing offensive weapons or engaging in combat operations. The Red Cross armband they wore granted them protected status. Enemy forces were legally obligated to respect that status and refrain from targeting medical personnel. In exchange, medical personnel agreed not to take up arms except in direct defense of patience or self-preservation. The doctrine was clear.

Salomon followed it. But he also kept his M1 rifle and continued range practice on weekends when training schedules permitted. The 27th Infantry Division shipped to Hawaii in March 1943. Salomon was assigned to the 105th Infantry Regiment as a dental officer. His duties included routine dental care for the regiment’s 3,000 men.

He performed examinations, extractions, fillings. He treated absesses and infections. He worked out of a mobile dental clinic, a converted truck with a fold down examination chair and portable drill. The work was monotonous. Salomon requested transfer to a line unit. His commanding officer denied the request. Dental officers were in short supply. The division needed specialists.

Salomon remained in the dental section through the division’s deployment to Mackin atal in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943. The 27th division captured Mackin after 4 days of fighting. Salomon treated combat casualties in a field hospital. He extracted shrapnel, cleaned wounds, administered morphine. He did not fire a weapon.

The division received orders for Saipan in May 1944. The island was 15 mi long and 6 mi wide, located in the Marana Islands chain 1,400 m south of Tokyo. Japanese forces on Saipan numbered approximately 32,000 troops, including the 43rd Infantry Division and naval personnel. American planners estimated 2 weeks to secure the island.

The 27th Infantry Division would land on June 16th as part of the second wave. Following the second and fourth marine divisions, Salomon prepared his medical section for mass casualty operations. He stockpiled plasma, morphine, bandages, surgical kits. He established protocols for triage and evacuation. He did not expect to be anywhere near the fighting.

June 22nd, 1944, 11 hours, the second battalion, 105th regiment, advanced through cane fields, 2 mi inland from the landing beaches. Japanese artillery targeted the battalion command post, killing the battalion surgeon and wounding two aid men. Battalion commander requested immediate replacement.

Salomon volunteered. He arrived at the command post at 1300 hours with his medical kit and his M1 rifle. The battalion commander noticed the rifle. You’re a dentist, Captain. Leave the rifle with supply. Salomon kept the rifle. The commander did not press the issue.

The battalion was under manned and taking casualties faster than replacements could arrive. If the dentist wanted to carry a rifle, it was his decision. The second battalion established a defensive perimeter along Tanipag plane on the northwest coast of Saipan. The terrain was flat and open, offering no cover except scattered trees and abandoned buildings.

The battalion dug foxholes and set up interlocking fields of fire. Salomon established an aid station in a tent positioned 50 yard behind the front line. The tent measured 6×9 m constructed of canvas tarpolin stretched over a wooden frame. Inside, Salomon set up four litters for wounded, a surgical table made from ammunition crates, and storage for medical supplies.

The location was close enough to the front line to provide rapid treatment, but supposedly far enough back to remain outside the direct combat zone. It was not far enough. Japanese forces on Saipan were compressed into the northern third of the island by early July. The commanding officer, Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saitito, faced a choice between surrender and death. He chose death.

On July 6th, Saito issued orders for a final assault, a Guusai attack, the shattering of the jewel, a mass charge intended to kill as many Americans as possible before the defenders were annihilated. The attack would begin before dawn on July 7th.

Every soldier who could walk, every wounded man who could hold a weapon would participate. The objective was to break through American lines and reach the artillery positions on the beach. Japanese commanders estimated the attack force at 4,000 men. It would be the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. July 7th, 1944 0445 hours. Salomon was awake inside the aid station tent checking inventory.

He had 31 wounded men under his care, ranging from shrapnel wounds to amputations. Four aid men assisted with patient care. Salomon heard the first mortar impact 200 m north. The second round landed at 150 m, the third at 100 m, the fourth at 50 m. The barrage walked toward the battalion perimeter. Salomon ordered the lantern extinguished. The fifth round hit 20 m from the tent. Explosion.

The tent shook. Patience screamed. Salomon grabbed his rifle. 05 hours. The sound began as a low roar. Thousands of voices shouting in unison, “Banzai! Banzai!” The Japanese assault wave struck the second battalion’s perimeter with the force of a tidal surge. Approximately 3,000 soldiers charged across open ground toward the American foxholes.

The Marines had faced similar attacks on other islands. The army had not. Many soldiers in the 105th regiment had never experienced combat before Saipan. The Japanese came in waves, not organized lines. Irregular clusters of men running and screaming, firing rifles, throwing grenades, stabbing with bayonets and sharpened bamboo poles.

Some Japanese soldiers were wounded, limping or crawling, armed only with grenades. The American perimeter fired continuously. Machine guns, rifles, mortars. The noise was constant and deafening. 0508 hours. The front line collapsed. Japanese soldiers overran the forward foxholes and poured through gaps in the perimeter.

The battalion’s defensive line ceased to exist as a coherent structure. Fighting became individual, close-range, desperate. Salomon’s aid station was no longer behind the lines. It was inside the combat zone. He heard Japanese voices outside the tent, close, moving toward the entrance. He positioned himself near the surgical table, rifle in hand.

30 wounded men lay on litters and on the ground, unable to move, unable to defend themselves. Four aid men stood frozen near the tent entrance, unarmed except for knives and scissors. Salomon was the only person in the tent with a weapon. The first Japanese soldier entered through the tent side flap at 0512 hours.

He crawled under the canvas on hands and knees carrying a type 30 bayonet. He moved directly toward the nearest wounded American, a private with a shrapnel wound in the abdomen. The Japanese soldier raised the bayonet and drove it into the private’s chest. The private died without making a sound. Salomon fired from 8 m away. The M1 Garin’s report was loud and sharp inside the tent. The Japanese soldier fell.

Salomon worked the rifle’s action, chambering another round. He scanned the tent interior, watching for movement. Two more Japanese soldiers entered through the main tent flap, running, rifles raised. Salomon fired twice. Both men dropped. He heard tearing canvas behind him.

Another soldier was cutting through the tent’s rear wall. Salomon turned, aimed, fired. The soldier fell backwards through the opening he had created. Four Japanese soldiers were now dead inside or immediately outside the aid station. Salomon had eight rounds remaining in the Garin’s magazine. He heard more voices outside, more movement. The tent was surrounded.

He could not defend the position alone with a rifle against an unknown number of attackers. Salomon gave the order at 0515 hours. Evacuate the wounded now. The four aid men hesitated. Sir, what about I’ll hold them. Get them out. The aidmen began dragging litters toward the tent’s rear exit. Salomon moved to the entrance and fired at shapes moving outside.

He could see Japanese soldiers 20 m away advancing in groups. He fired, reloaded, fired. The Garand’s onblock clip ejected with its distinctive metallic ping. He reloaded from a spare clip eight more rounds. The aid men dragged wounded soldiers out of the tent one by one, moving toward the battalion’s fallback position 500 m to the south.

Salomon stayed at the entrance, firing at any Japanese soldier who approached. He expended six clips, 48 rounds in 12 minutes. By 0527 hours, the last wounded soldier was being evacuated. Salomon followed the aidmen out of the tent. 20 m north of the tent, Salomon found a Browning M1917A1 heavy machine gun.

Three American soldiers lay dead around the weapon, killed by bayonets and grenades. The machine gun was intact, still mounted on its tripod, water jacket full, ammunition belt loaded and ready. The M1917A1 weighed 47 kg fully assembled, including the tripod, water jacket, and ammunition.

It was designed for a three-man crew, gunner, assistant gunner, and ammunition bearer. Salomon had no crew. He checked the weapon. The bolt was forward. The ammunition belt fed from the left side a standard cloth belt holding 250 rounds of 3006 Springfield cartridges. The weapon was ready to fire. Salomon understood the situation.

The red cross armband on his left arm designated him a non-combatant. Under the Geneva Convention, he was prohibited from using offensive weapons, particularly crews served weapons like machine guns. Operating the M1917A1 would violate his protected status. If captured, he could be executed as an illegal combatant. He looked north toward the advancing Japanese.

He looked south toward the retreating aid men carrying wounded soldiers. He removed the M1 Garin sling from his shoulder and set the rifle on the ground. He gripped the M1917A1 spade handles and pressed the butterfly trigger. The machine gun fired with a mechanical stutter, a slower cadence than the air cooled M1919. 450 rounds per minute cyclic rate.

Salomon fired in six-second bursts, approximately 45 rounds per burst. The muzzle climb was minimal due to the weapon’s weight. The water jacket absorbed heat, allowing sustained fire without barrel overheating. Japanese soldiers fell in groups, cut down by intersecting fire. Salomon traversed the gun left and right, covering a 60° arc. He fired, paused, fired again.

The cloth ammunition belt fed smoothly through the receiver. Brass casings ejected to the right, piling on the ground. The first belt was exhausted after 30 seconds of intermittent fire. Salomon released the trigger, opened the feed tray cover, removed the empty belt, loaded a fresh belt from an ammunition box beside the gun.

The reload took 18 seconds working alone. A trained three-man crew could reload in 4 seconds. Salomon resumed fire at 0546 hours. Japanese soldiers continued advancing from the north, moving in irregular waves. Some took cover behind bodies. Others ran directly towards Salomon’s position. He fired short bursts, conserving ammunition, aiming for center mass.

The effective range of the M1917A1 was 1100 m, but Salomon engaged targets at 40 to 100 m, close enough to guarantee hits. The first hour of sustained firing resulted in approximately 60 Japanese soldiers killed in front of his position. Bodies began to accumulate, forming low piles of blocked some sight lines. Salomon ceased fire at 0645 hours and assessed the situation. The Japanese advance had stalled.

Enemy soldiers were taking cover behind terrain features and bodies, no longer charging directly at his position. The machine gun’s barrel was hot, but not critical. Water in the cooling jacket was beginning to steam, but had not boiled. He had three ammunition boxes remaining, approximately 750 rounds. The Japanese adapted at 0700 hours.

Instead of frontal assaults, they began flanking movements, groups of soldiers moving east and west to approach Salomon’s position from multiple directions. He could no longer cover all approaches with the gun’s limited traverse. He made the decision to reposition. He grabbed the machine gun’s tripod legs and dragged the entire assembly 5 m to the right into a slight depression that offered better cover and broader fields of fire.

The 47 kg weight made movement difficult. He pulled and pushed, repositioning the gun incrementally. Japanese rifle fire struck the ground near him. Bullets snapped past supersonic cracks audible over the ambient noise. He reached the new position at 0708RS, reset the tripod, and resumed firing. The second position offered improved visibility to the west.

Salomon engaged Japanese soldiers attempting to flank from that direction. He fired in controlled bursts, 3 to 5 seconds each, approximately 30 to 40 rounds per burst. The cloth belts occasionally jammed when they twisted or snagged on the tripod. Salomon had to stop firing, clear the jam, and resume. Each jam cost 10 to 15 seconds. During those seconds, Japanese soldiers advanced closer.

At 0735 hours, a Japanese bullet struck Salomon in the left thigh, entering the anterior surface and exiting posteriorly without striking the feur. Blood soaked his trousers. The wound burned but did not impair his ability to operate the gun. He ignored it and continued firing. Japanese soldiers reached 50 m from Salomon’s position at 0800 hours.

They threw grenades. Most fell short, exploding 10 to 20 m away. One grenade landed within 3 m of the machine gun. Salomon grabbed it and threw it back before it detonated. The explosion killed two Japanese soldiers. He resumed firing immediately. The third ammunition box was nearly empty.

He had one box remaining, 250 rounds. He calculated time 450 rounds per minute cyclic rate. Actual rate of fire approximately 150 rounds per minute accounting for bursts and pauses. 250 rounds remaining equaled 90 seconds of firing. After that, he would be out of ammunition. A Japanese soldier broke through Salomon’s perimeter at 0815rs, running at full speed, bayonet extended.

Salomon could not traverse the machine gun fast enough. The soldier closed to 3 m. Salomon released the gun and drew his service pistol, a Colt M1911A 45 caliber. He fired twice. The soldier fell. Salomon holstered the pistol and returned to the machine gun. He resumed firing. The last ammunition box was loaded and feeding.

100 rounds remaining. 50 rounds. 20 rounds. At 0822 hours, the M1917A1 stopped firing. The belt was empty. Salomon had had no more ammunition. He did not retreat. Japanese soldiers were advancing from three directions, closing the distance. Rapidly, Salomon picked up an M1 Garand from a dead soldier near the machine gun position. He checked the magazine.

Six rounds. He fired at the closest target 20 m away. The soldier fell. Five rounds remaining. He fired four more times, dropping four more Japanese soldiers. One round left. He fired, missed. The Garand was empty. He grabbed another rifle from the ground, a Springfield M1903 bolt action. No magazine. He worked the bolt, chambered one round, fired, worked the bolt again, empty.

He picked up a third rifle. This one had ammunition. He continued firing. Japanese soldiers were within 10 m at 0830 hours. Salomon fired until the rifle was empty, then used it as a club, swinging the stock at the nearest attacker. The rifle broke. A Japanese soldier stabbed him with a bayonet, piercing his right shoulder. Salomon twisted away, the blade, tearing free.

He grabbed a knife from a dead American soldier and used it to kill the attacker. Another Japanese soldier shot him in the abdomen at close range. The bullet perforated his intestines. He fell to one knee. Blood poured from the wound. He knew the injury was fatal. Abdominal penetration, intestinal perforation, massive internal bleeding.

He had minutes, not hours. He crawled back to the machine gun. The weapon had no ammunition, but the Japanese did not know that. He positioned himself behind the gun, gripped the handles, placed his finger on the trigger. Japanese soldiers saw the movement and hesitated, taking cover. They did not know the gun was empty.

Salomon remained at the gun, motionless, giving the appearance of an active threat. The hesitation bought time. Seconds became minutes. More Japanese soldiers advanced, then stopped when they saw the machine gun aimed in their direction. They moved around the position, flanking wide to avoid the gun’s arc of fire. Salomon did not move.

He could not move. Blood loss and shock were shutting down his body. He remained upright through will alone. A Japanese officer ordered his soldiers to advance at 0835 hours. They moved cautiously toward the machine gun position. Salomon did not fire because he could not. The gun was empty.

A Japanese soldier reached the position, saw Salomon slumped over the weapon, and stabbed him with a bayonet. Salomon did not react. He was already dead. More Japanese soldiers arrived. They bayonetted and shot the body repeatedly. 52 wounds inflicted postmortem. Rage against the man who had killed so many of them alone. July 8th, 1944. 1430 hours. Captain Edmund G.

Love completed his examination of the scene. The bodies were counted. 98 Japanese soldiers confirmed killed directly in front of Salomon’s position. The pattern of the dead indicated sustained machine gun fire from a single location with four repositionings. spent shell casings numbered over 1,000, indicating Salomon had fired the M1917A1 until ammunition was exhausted.

Love documented the wounds on Salomon’s body. A medical examiner confirmed 24 wounds were received anti-mortem while Salomon was alive and fighting. The remaining 52 were inflicted post-mortem. Cause of death was determined to be exanguination from multiple gunshot wounds and bayonet trauma.

Time of death estimated at approximately 0835 hours on July 7th. Salomon had fought for 3 hours and 35 minutes after making the decision to operate the machine gun. Love filed a recommendation for the Medal of Honor on July 10th, 1944. The recommendation included witness statements from the four aid men who evacuated the wounded, forensic analysis of the battlefield, and photographs of Salomon’s body and the surrounding Japanese casualties.

The recommendation moved up the chain of command to Major General George W. Grryer Jr., commanding officer of the 27th Infantry Division. Grryer reviewed the recommendation and denied it on July 18th, 1944. Justification: Captain Salomon violated the Geneva Convention by operating an offensive weapon while wearing the Red Cross armband.

Medical personnel are non-combatants. Engaging in combat forfeits protected status and disqualifies the individual from recognition for valor. The denial was based on a misinterpretation of the Geneva Convention. Article 8 of the 1929 convention explicitly permits medical personnel to carry and use weapons for self-defense and for the defense of patients under their care. Salomon’s actions fell within the legal boundaries of the convention.

He operated the machine gun to defend wounded soldiers who were unable to defend themselves. His use of force was defensive, not offensive. Grryer’s interpretation ignored this distinction. The recommendation was filed and forgotten. Salomon was buried without honors beyond the Purple Heart, awarded postumously for wounds received in action.

No Medal of Honor, no public recognition. For 58 years, the army’s official position remained that Salomon had violated regulations and did not merit the nation’s highest military decoration. Dr. Robert West, a dentist and USC alumnus, discovered Salomon’s story in 1998 while researching USC dental school graduates who served in World War II.

West found a brief mention in a veteran’s memoir and investigated further. He located Love’s original recommendation in the National Archives. He read the forensic report, the witness statements, the photographs. He compared the army’s denial with the actual text of the Geneva Convention and realized the error.

West contacted Representative Brad Sherman of California, who agreed to advocate for a review. Shar introduced legislation requesting the Army Board for Correction of Military Records re-examine Salomon’s case. The review process took four years. Army legal experts analyzed the Geneva Convention’s provisions on medical personnel. They concluded that Grryer’s interpretation had been incorrect.

Salomon’s actions were legally justified under Article 8. The use of the machine gun was defensive. He was protecting patients. The board recommended approval of the Medal of Honor. Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White endorsed the recommendation in 2001. The award was finalized in 2002. On May 1st, 2002, President George W.

Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Salomon’s family in a ceremony at the White House. Salomon’s brother, then 87 years old, received the medal. 58 years after the action on Saipan, the army acknowledged what Captain Edmund G. Love had documented in July 1944. Benjamin Lewis Salomon had acted with extraordinary valor, killing 98 enemy soldiers to save 30 wounded men who had no other defense.

The precedent established by Salomon’s case clarified the legal status of medical personnel in combat. The army updated field manual 8-10 medical support operations in 2003 to explicitly state that medical personnel may use weapons including crew served weapons when necessary to defend patients.

The interpretation that had denied Salomon recognition for 58 years was officially repudiated. Medical personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan operated under the clarified rules. They could defend themselves and their patients without fear of legal consequences or denial of recognition for valor. Captain Benjamin Lewis Salomon is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Section G, site 299. The grave is marked by a simple headstone, gray granite, standard military issue. Inscription: Benjamin L. Salomon, Captain, US Army, World War II. Medal of Honor, February 1st, 1914 to July 7th, 1944. No mention of the 98. Visitors who know the story stop and read the inscription. Most do not know.

They walk past without pausing, unaware that the dentist buried beneath the stone killed nearly 100 enemy soldiers in three hours to buy time for 30 wounded men to reach safety. The story was buried for 58 years because an officer misread a regulation and decided that a dentist with a machine gun had violated the rules of war.

The story was resurrected because a dentist in California refused to let it remain buried. Captain Salomon killed 98 men. The army called it a violation. The president called it heroism. The difference took 58 years to resolve.