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70 years ago: Baldomero Lopez earns the Medal of Honor

Chris Carter
1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez leads 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines over the seawall on the northern side of RED BEACH as the second assault wave lands at Inchon, 15 September 1950. The Marines are using wooden ladders to disembark from their LCVPs. (USMC photo)

Moments after this iconic photograph was snapped, 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez will be cut down by enemy fire and then use his body to absorb the blast from a grenade — posthumously earning the Medal of Honor. Read his citation here. 70 years ago this night, Lopez’s Marines spent the next several hours neutralizing the North Korean defenders, setting the stage for the drive to recapture Seoul.

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