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Medal of Honor Monday: Army Tech. 4th Grade Laverne Parrish

A man smiles for a photo.
Medal of Honor
Army Tech. 4th Grade Laverne Parrish, Medal of Honor recipient.
Credit: Army
VIRIN: 250114-A-D0439-0038

Army Tech. 4th Grade Laverne Parrish saved many lives as a medic during World War II. He was unable to save himself, but his remarkable efforts during the campaign to return the Philippines to Allied control led him to posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.

Parrish was born on July 16, 1918, in Knox City, Missouri, to Clatious and Weltha Parrish. He had a brother named Irwin.

The family moved to Pablo, Montana, in 1934. Parrish graduated from nearby Ronan High School in 1937. Afterward, he spent time farming with his father while also working at a local lumber mill.

In March 1941, Parrish joined the Washington Army National Guard. About a year and a half later, after the U.S. had joined World War II, his unit was activated, and Parrish was sent to Hawaii to train as a medical aidman. Soon after, his unit was deployed to the Pacific Theater as a medical detachment with the 161st Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. They saw combat in several major campaigns, including Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands.

In January 1945, Parrish's unit arrived on the island of Luzon to help Allied troops regain control of the Philippines from the Japanese. By Jan. 18, Parrish was with Company C in Binalonan. Amidst the fighting, he noticed two wounded soldiers who were under enemy fire. Without regard for his own safety, Parrish moved one of the men to cover, then ran across 25 yards of exposed ground to give aid to the second man.

Three men in combat uniforms walk through a jungle area near a thatched building.
On a Patrol
A patrol of Company F, 6th Ranger Battalion, investigates a native hut on Dinagat Island in the Philippines during World War II.
Credit: Army
VIRIN: 250114-A-D0439-0039

About a week later, on Jan.  24, Company C was crossing an open field near San Manuel when they came under intense enemy fire that required them to withdraw to a ditch for cover. Parrish was busy treating casualties in the ditch when he saw two wounded men in the field.

Without hesitating, Parrish left the relative safety of the ditch and crawled forward through enemy fire to get to them. It took him two trips, but he brought each man to safety. Afterward, he aided 12 more men in the same field, crossing and recrossing the exposed area as it continued to be raked by hostile fire. Parrish was also able to help three more men get to the ditch.

Sadly, after treating nearly all 37 men injured in his company during the fight, Parrish was hit by mortar fire and killed.

Parrish's bravery and valor did not go unnoticed. On Aug. 2, 1945, his parents received the Medal of Honor on his behalf during what they requested be a small ceremony at Fort Missoula, Montana.

A howitzer tank sits in front of a building. A U.S. flag is flown on a flagpole beside it.
Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History
A World War II-era howitzer is displayed in front of the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History at Fort Missoula, Mont., July 7, 2015. The museum promotes the commemoration and study of the U.S. armed services, from the frontier period to the war on terrorism.
Credit: John Turner, Air Force
VIRIN: 150707-F-CX339-073

Parrish's remains were returned to the U.S., and he was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in his hometown of Ronan.

The young soldier hasn't been forgotten where he grew up or in the military medical community. In 1948, Ronan named an athletic field the Sergeant Laverne Parrish Memorial Field. In 1954, Parrish Road near the medical training center at what was then Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was renamed for him. (The base has since been renamed Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.) In 2003, the Laverne Parrish Memorial Building at Fort Missoula, which houses the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History, was also named in his honor. 

This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday" in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.

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