List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
Name Service Rank Place of action Date of action
James D. La Belle † Marine Corps Private First Class Iwo Jima , Volcano Islands March 8 , 1945
Salvador J. Lara Army Staff Sergeant Aprilia , Italy May 27 , 1944 - May 28 , 1944
William R. Lawley , Jr Air Forces First Lieutenant over Europe February 20 , 1944
Robert E. Laws Army Staff Sergeant Pangasinan Province , Luzon , Philippines January 12 , 1945
Daniel W. Lee Army Second Lieutenant Montreval , France September 2 , 1944
John H. Leims Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Iwo Jima , Volcano Islands March 7 , 1945
Turney W. Leonard † Army First Lieutenant Kommerscheidt , Germany November 4 , 1944 - November 6 , 1944
William F. Leonard Army Staff Sergeant Near St . Die , France November 7 , 1944
Fred F. Lester † Navy Hospital Apprentice First class Okinawa Shima , Ryukyu Chain June 8 , 1945
Darrell R. Lindsey † Air Forces Captain L'Isle Adam railroad bridge over the Seine , France August 9 , 1944
Jake W. Lindsey Army Technical Sergeant near Hamich , Germany November 16 , 1944
Floyd K. Lindstrom † Army Private First Class near Mignano , Italy November 11 , 1943
Edgar H. Lloyd † Army First Lieutenant near Pompey , France September 14 , 1944
Donald R. Lobaugh † Army Private near Afua , New Guinea July 22 , 1944
James M. Logan Army Sergeant near Salerno , Italy September 9 , 1943
Jose M. Lopez Army Sergeant near Krinkelt , Belgium December 17 , 1944
Jacklyn H. Lucas Marine Corps Private First Class Iwo Jima , Volcano Islands February 20 , 1945
Jack Lummus † Marine Corps First Lieutenant Iwo Jima , Volcano Islands March 8 , 1945
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This is a list of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II. The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States or an opposing foreign force. Due to the nature of this medal, it is commonly presented posthumously. World War II, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German and Soviet invasion of Poland. This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. The United States was drawn into World War II on December 8, 1941, a day after the Axis-member Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu that killed almost 2,500 people in what was considered the biggest peacetime loss on American soil inflicted by foreign people at that time. For actions during World War II, 472 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor. Seventeen of these were Japanese-Americans fighting in both Europe and the Pacific, many of which were upgraded from Distinguished Service Crosses during the Clinton administration. Additionally, Douglas Albert Munro was the only serviceman from the United States Coast Guard in United States military history to receive the Medal for his actions during the war. The earliest action for which a U.S. serviceman earned a World War II Medal of Honor was the attack on Pearl Harbor, for which 17 U.S. servicemen were awarded a Medal, although they did so while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force rather than enemy since the United States was neutral during the events of December 7, 1941.