A Dentist?

Captain Ben L. Salomon
United States Army Dental Corps
Medal of Honor
(Source)

Heroism knows no race, no religion, no creed, no gender. Heroism is usually demonstrated by ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. The story of Ben Salomon is one such instance.

While casting about for a topic for today's post, I came across the story of Ben Salomon, the first reference I saw indicated that he was a dentist in the Army, yes, that's right, a dentist who had been awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for his actions on Saipan during World War II.

Captain Salomon didn't start out in the Army as a dentist. Though the young man from Wisconsin went to the University of Southern California Dental School and returned home to Wisconsin to practice his craft, the world outside of the USA was in chaos. In 1940, Captain Salomon was drafted into the Army as an infantryman.

Some sources have indicated that the Army didn't know he was a dentist (or if they did, they didn't care, they needed infantrymen, not dentists). Regardless, Ben Salomon threw himself into being a infantryman and had been praised by his commander as the "best soldier in the regiment." He made sergeant but eventually the Army woke up and commissioned him into the Dental Corps as a First Lieutenant. The troops don't fight well when their teeth hurt.

From what I read, here and there, Captain Salomon didn't get into the war until the invasion of Saipan in June of 1944. Well, let's turn it over to Wikipedia for a moment...

In June 1944, Salomon saw his first combat — going ashore on Saipan with the 105th Infantry. With little dental work to do during active combat, Salomon volunteered to replace the 2nd Battalion's surgeon, who had been wounded. As the 2nd Battalion advanced, casualties were high. On July 7, Salomon's aid station was set up only 50 yards behind the forward foxhole line. Fighting was heavy and a major Japanese assault soon overran the perimeter, then the aid station. Salomon was able to kill the enemy that entered the hospital tent and ordered the wounded to be evacuated, while he stayed to cover their withdrawal.

The good doctor stayed at his post, covering the withdrawal of the aid station's wounded and staff. He gave his life for his patients, apparently fighting like an enraged tiger as they fell back.

At 5 o’clock in the morning on July 7, 1944, a 30 year-old Jewish dentist from Milwaukee head-butted a Japanese infantryman straight- up in the f**king face and then shanked him with the knife he’d taken off another enemy soldier he’d just killed two seconds earlier.  All around him, the surgical tent of the 105th Infantry Division was in chaos – wounded men were scrambling to their feet, nurses were urgently barking directions to troops, and the sounds of heavy machine gun and rifle fire ripped through jungle from every direction – but Captain Ben L. Salomon had officially morphed from a mild-mannered surgeon to an utterly-unstoppable one-man destroyer of worlds.  Surrounded by the bodies of nearly a dozen enemy troops who had dared to threaten the lives of his patients, Salomon grabbed a fresh rifle off a table, fixed a bayonet on the end, slammed a clip into the breach, and rushed out of the tent.  His final order before racing bayonet-first into the frenetic sounds of gunfire was to tell the wounded to get the fallback position ASAP.  He’d cover their retreat himself, one man against a battalion of Japanese Imperial Infantry, and buy his patients as much time as he could. (Source)

Though it took the United States fifty-eight years to acknowledge the heroism of this dentist from Wisconsin, eventually it did. You can read about that here, a nice synopsis of the long struggle to recognize this hero.

You never really know who will step up and fill the breach when all Hell is breaking loose. Sometimes, it's a dentist from Wisconsin.

Captain Ben L. Salomon was serving at Saipan, in the Marianas Islands on July 7, 1944, as the Surgeon for the 2d Battalion, 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. The Regiment's 1st and 2d Battalions were attacked by an overwhelming force estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Japanese soldiers. It was one of the largest attacks attempted in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Although both units fought furiously, the enemy soon penetrated the Battalions' combined perimeter and inflicted overwhelming casualties. In the first minutes of the attack, approximately 30 wounded soldiers walked, crawled, or were carried into Captain Salomon's aid station, and the small tent soon filled with wounded men. As the perimeter began to be overrun, it became increasingly difficult for Captain Salomon to work on the wounded. He then saw a Japanese soldier bayoneting one of the wounded soldiers lying near the tent. Firing from a squatting position, Captain Salomon quickly killed the enemy soldier. Then, as he turned his attention back to the wounded, two more Japanese soldiers appeared in the front entrance of the tent. As these enemy soldiers were killed, four more crawled under the tent walls. Rushing them, Captain Salomon kicked the knife out of the hand of one, shot another, and bayoneted a third. Captain Salomon butted the fourth enemy soldier in the stomach and a wounded comrade then shot and killed the enemy soldier. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Captain Salomon ordered the wounded to make their way as best they could back to the regimental aid station, while he attempted to hold off the enemy until they were clear. Captain Salomon then grabbed a rifle from one of the wounded and rushed out of the tent. After four men were killed while manning a machine gun, Captain Salomon took control of it. When his body was later found, 98 dead enemy soldiers were piled in front of his position. Captain Salomon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

As my Jewish friends say, May his memory be a blessing...




You can read more about Captain Salomon here, here, here, and here.