Bruno R. Orig (January 1930 – 15 February 1951) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier who was posthumously awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

on 3 January 2025 for his actions during the

Battle of Chipyong-ni The Battle of Chipyong-ni (), also known as the Battle of Dipingli (), was a decisive battle of the Korean War that took place from 13 to 14 February 1951 between US and French units of the US 23rd Infantry Regiment and various units of the Ch ...

in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Early life

Bruno Orig was born in January 1930, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was one of eight children raised in Honolulu by his mother Gregoria, father Hilario Orig (who died at age 41) and stepfather Leon Omboy. All three of his parents came to Hawaii from the Philippines. He graduated from Farrington High School in 1949.

Military career

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1950 and was trained as a light weapons infantryman. He was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion,

23rd Infantry Regiment The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812. In 1815 it was consolidated with the 6th, 16th, 22nd, and ...

, 2nd Infantry Division, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. After only three months in country, Orig distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Chipyong-ni on 15 February 1951. During fierce fighting, Orig moved his fellow wounded soldiers to a place of safety and noticed that all except one man of a machine-gun crew had been wounded. Without hesitation, he volunteered to man the weapon. Remaining in this position, Orig placed such effective fire on the enemy that a withdrawing friendly platoon was able to move back without a single casualty. He continued to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy until the company positions were overrun. Later that day, when the lost ground was recaptured, Orig was found dead beside his weapon and the area in front of his gun was littered with enemy dead. Orig was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor on 3 January 2025.

Early life

Military career

Medal of Honor citation

References

See also