Private Joseph William Ozbourn (October 24, 1919 – July 30, 1944) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save his comrades on Tinian in the Marianas on July 30, 1944.
Joseph Ozbourn was born in Herrin, Illinois on October 24, 1919. He attended grammar school in Buckner, Illinois, and subsequently became a trip rider in the mines for the Old Ben Coal Corporation in West Frankfort, Ill...
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Private Joseph William Ozbourn (October 24, 1919 – July 30, 1944) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life to save his comrades on Tinian in the Marianas on July 30, 1944.
Joseph Ozbourn was born in Herrin, Illinois on October 24, 1919. He attended grammar school in Buckner, Illinois, and subsequently became a trip rider in the mines for the Old Ben Coal Corporation in West Frankfort, Illinois. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on October 30, 1943.
On July 30, 1944, while serving as a Browning Automatic Rifleman serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-Third Marines, Fourth Marine Division, during the Battle of Tinian, Private Ozbourn died after hurling himself on a live hand grenade thus saving the lives of four fellow Marines. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Private Ozbourn was initially buried in Tinian, Mariana Islands, but later his remains were...
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