Rodger Wilton Young (April 28, 1918July 31, 1943) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

infantryman from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Born in the small town of

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. Developed along the Sandusky River, which flows to Lake Erie, Tiffin is about 55 miles southeast of Toledo. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census.Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fed ...

. Soon after the United States entered World War II, Young's company was activated as part of the U.S. Army. Soon after his activation, in 1943, Young was killed on the island of

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most ...

while helping his

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

withdraw from a Japanese ambush. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. In the years after Young's death, his legacy was commemorated in many works. Songwriter

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

penned " The Ballad of Rodger Young", a song which praises the courage of American infantrymen as represented by Young. The night infiltration course at Fort Benning is named for Young, as is a small arms firing range at

Camp Perry Camp Perry is a National Guard training facility located on the shore of Lake Erie in northern Ohio near Port Clinton. In addition to its regular mission as a military training base, Camp Perry also boasts the second largest outdoor rifle range ...

Early life and education

Young was born on April 28, 1918, in

Clyde, Ohio Clyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, located eight miles southeast of Fremont. The population was 6,325 at the time of the 2010 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA. The town is known for hav ...

. Throughout his childhood, Young enjoyed hunting, which improved his marksmanship skills. Although a small-statured boy, Young was a keen athlete. While at

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, Young tried out for his school's football team. He was not accepted at first, but eventually, Young's effort and enthusiasm in practices persuaded the coach to allow him to play in some games. During a high school basketball game, Young received a serious head injury after contact with an opponent. The incident led to significant but gradual damage to his

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...

and

eyesight Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflect ...

. Because of this, Young had to drop out of high school in his sophomore year, at which point his hearing and vision loss had progressed to a severe point.

Military service

Looking for ways to earn extra income and thinking that, because of his health issues, he would fail the normal

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

medical exam In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally consists of a series of questions about the patient ...

, Young applied to the

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army National Guard is called to fed ...

in 1939. Despite his poor sight and hearing, Young was accepted and posted to "B" Company, 148th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Infantry Division. Although Young was the shortest man in his company and wore glasses, he was considered a good soldier by his peers.

World War II

In October 1940, a year after joining the National Guard, Young and his unit were activated for federal service as part of American preparations for

. At that time, Young was a corporal, training new recruits in small arms handling. Following a promotion to sergeant, Young was assigned to lead an infantry squad. In 1942, soon after America's entry into the war, the 148th embarked for Fiji, in the Pacific, and after that to the nearby

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

for training prior to a deployment to the Japanese-held island of

. By this time, Young's hearing and eyesight had deteriorated to a point where, taking into account the safety of those under him, Young requested a demotion to private, which would render him unable to command a squad.. When Young submitted his request to the company commander, the commander initially thought Young was

malingering Malingering is the fabrication, feigning, or exaggeration of physical or psychological symptoms designed to achieve a desired outcome, such as relief from duty or work. Malingering is not a medical diagnosis, but may be recorded as a "focus of c ...

in order to avoid combat; however, a medical examination carried out soon after determined that Young was nearly

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, which convinced the commander to demote him. The examining doctor recommended that Young go to a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

for treatment. However, not wanting to miss the New Georgia landing, Young requested to remain with his squad. The commander accepted his request and a week later, on July 31, 1943, Young carried out the actions that led to his posthumous award of the Medal of Honor. Nine days into the

Battle of Munda Point The Battle of Munda Point was a battle, from 22 July – 5 August 1943, between primarily United States Army and Imperial Japanese Army forces during the New Georgia Campaign in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific War. The battle took place follo ...

, on July 31, Young was assigned to a 20-man patrol sent out at around 4:00 p.m. to reconnoiter Japanese territory. After achieving their objective, the patrol was returning to American lines when they were

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

ed by five Japanese soldiers. Heavy fire from the enemy, who were concealed in a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

pit away on higher ground, prevented further movement forward of the patrol. Two soldiers were killed in the initial burst and Young was wounded. During an attempt to

flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * Th ...

the enemy, two more soldiers were killed. At this point, the patrol leader ordered a withdrawal. Young, ignoring the order to withdraw and his wound, began crawling towards the Japanese position. Another machine gun burst wounded Young a second time, but he continued his advance, drawing the enemy fire away from his squad. As Young drew closer to the machine gun pit, he began responding with rifle fire and by throwing

hand grenades A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...

at the nest, wounding or killing most of the soldiers inside. Young was soon hit by enemy fire and killed. Because of his actions, Young's platoon was able to withdraw from the ambush without any further casualties. Army Medal of Honor

On January 6, 1944, Young's family was presented with the

. Young's Medal of Honor citation reads:

On July 31, 1943, the infantry company of which Pvt. Young was a member, was ordered to make a limited withdrawal from the battle line in order to adjust the battalion's position for the night. At this time, Pvt. Young's platoon was engaged with the enemy in a dense jungle where observation was very limited. The platoon suddenly was pinned down by intense fire from a Japanese machinegun concealed on higher ground only 75 yards away. The initial burst wounded Pvt. Young. As the platoon started to obey the order to withdraw, Pvt. Young called out that he could see the enemy emplacement, whereupon he started creeping toward it. Another burst from the machinegun wounded him the second time. Despite the wounds, he continued his heroic advance, attracting enemy fire and answering with rifle fire. When he was close enough to his objective, he began throwing handgrenades, and while doing so was hit again and killed. Pvt. Young's bold action in closing with this Japanese pillbox and thus diverting its fire, permitted his platoon to disengage itself, without loss, and was responsible for several enemy casualties.

Young's body was transferred to the United States in July 1949 and is now buried in McPherson Cemetery in Clyde, Ohio.

Legacy

At the

U.S. Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infantr ...

at Fort Benning in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the night infiltration course is named for Young. A pass in the course is a prerequisite for graduation; soldiers crawl through sandy and muddy terrain while live gunfire from M60 or M240B machine guns manned by instructors passes overhead. Fort Benning's Recreation Center has a plaque in recognition of his bravery. On March 1, 1945, the city of Fremont, Ohio memorialized Fremont Water Works Park by dedicating it to the memory of Rodger W. Young and members of the armed forces from Sandusky County, Ohio in World War II. In 1945, songwriter

wrote " The Ballad of Rodger Young". At the time, he was a private serving in the Army's Radio Production Unit. ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine featured the ballad's sheet music and lyrics in a story on Young in its March 5, 1945, edition. The ''Life'' article, together with the 1949 repatriation of Young's body to the United States, boosted the song's popularity. Best-selling recordings were made by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

and

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

by the end of 1949. On March 31, 1946, "The Ballad of Rodger Young" was sung by tenor

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

on the ''Jack Benny Program'' on the radio. After the song,

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

gave a speech in Young's honor. In 1946, a veterans' housing project was established in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. This was known as the Rodger Young Village until the mid-1950s when it was destroyed. At the Ohio National Guard Training Site in

, there is a small arms

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by militar ...

named in honor of Young. Camp Perry hosts the National Rifle & Pistol Championships. Young is briefly mentioned in

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

's 1949 short story "

The Long Watch "The Long Watch" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is about a military officer who faces a ''coup d'état'' by a would-be dictator. Originally titled "Rebellion on the Moon", the story originally appeared ...

" and in his novel "

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

", a mountain range on the moon is named for Young. In Heinlein's novel '' Starship Troopers'', for which he was awarded the Hugo in 1959, the troop transport TFCT ''Rodger Young'' is named for him. Loesser's ballad also features on several occasions in the book. Heinlein also included a "Historical Note" in which he quoted Young's Medal of Honor citation. The starship is also featured in

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

's adaption of the novel, named the "No. 176 ''Rodger Young''; in the movie the character Sgt. Zim pays a loose homage to Young's history by asking to be demoted so he can join the front lines. In January 1964, Young's story was featured in the 15th episode of the TV historical series '' The Great Adventure''.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

*
The Ballad of Rodger Young
—Lyrics courtesy o
The West Point Connection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Rodger Wilton 1918 births 1943 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Ohio People from Clyde, Ohio People from Green Springs, Ohio People from Tiffin, Ohio United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army non-commissioned officers World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Ohio National Guard personnel American people with disabilities