Rodger Wilton Young ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Ohio
On July 31, 1943 Private Young was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of Ohio. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Rodger Wilton Young is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2024-05-24 10:50:52.
Missing : Core Data
· Enlistment type· Military occupation or specialty
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Marriage history· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 518890 |
| Service ID | 20504613 |
| Name | Rodger Wilton Young |
| From | Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio |
| Birth Date | April 28, 1918 |
| Casualty Date | July 31, 1943 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Group | 37th Infantry Division, 148th Infantry Regiment, Company B |
| Casualty Type | KIA - Killed in Action |
| Location | Munda, Western, Solomon Islands |
| Burial | McPherson Cemetery, Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio |
| Notable Awards |
★ Medal of Honor
★ Purple Heart |
Additional Details
Rodger Wilton Young was born in Tiffin, Seneca County, Ohio. He was one of the four sons of Nicholas Edwin Young Sr and Esther Mae Crall. They also had a daughter. When he was still a boy, his family moved to Clyde, Ohio.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 and eyesight. Because of this, he 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. Looking for ways to earn extra income and thinking that, because of his health issues, he would fail the normal Army medical exam, Young applied to the Ohio National Guard 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 earned the respect of his fellow service members. In October 1940, Young's unit was activated for World War II. Following Young's promotion to sergeant, he served as a squad leader. In 1942, following Japan's entry into the war, the 148th was deployed to Fiji and then to the Solomon Islands. But Young's hearing and eyesight had gotten worse, and he became concerned that these deficits might affect his ability to command in combat, putting his squad at risk. Young asked the regimental commander that he be reduced in rank to private so that he would not be squad leader. The commander initially thought Young wanted to avoid combat; however, a medical examination determined that Young was almost deaf. A week later, on July 31, 1943, near Munda on New Georgia, Young was part of a 20-man patrol that was sent out to reconnoiter Japanese territory. By 4:00 p.m. the patrol was returning to the US lines along a trail when they were ambushed. The infantry company of which Pvt. Young was a member had been 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 machine gun 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 machine gun 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 hand grenades, 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. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on New Georgia, Solomon Islands, on July 31, 1943. His Medal was posthumously awarded to his family on January 17, 1944. In remembrance of Young, the songwriter Frank Loesser wrote "The Ballad of Rodger Young". |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Medal of Honor
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Infantryman Badge
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.Ohio Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Ohio who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Ohio was home to over 28,550 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 4,529 World War I
• 19,067 World War II
• 1,855 Korean War
• 3,099 Vietnam War
• 376 Prisoners of war
• 4,216 Missing in action
• 103 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 246 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 34 Medal of Honor recipients
• 19,067 World War II
• 1,855 Korean War
• 3,099 Vietnam War
• 376 Prisoners of war
• 4,216 Missing in action
• 103 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 246 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 34 Medal of Honor recipients
Guardians of Honor Credits
▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission
▼ USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor
▼ Walgreens Supported National Memorial Day Parade
▼ Balboa Park Veterans Museum
▼ U-Haul Supported National Memorial Day Parade
▼ Research Contributors - Groups and individuals who have been directly responsible for curating content. Some are experienced historians and archivists, others are enthusiastic members of the public who have suggested content additions or corrections.
Honor States Admin
Roy "Joker"
Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
Here is Some Important Information!
National Memorial Day Parade with Spirit of 45
On May 27, 2019 the Honor States group was proud to be a part of our premier Memorial Day parade hosted by the District of Columbia and sponsored by the American Veteran Center. Together with Spirit of 45 and dozens of enthusiastic kids, the float and banner in tribute to the fallen at Normandy proved memorable and moving.
★ Featured National Supporter
Our Supporters are Essential Team Members! - learn more
Collin - Your site is providing educational benefits. Kids especially really need to know of the supreme gifts of their freedom.
Emanual - I find myself coming back to your site often. It's important. Never forget the sacrifices made to preserve our freedom.
Suzanna - I commend you for creating this resource. And thanks to the volunteers for providing the extra support in crunch time:)
Janine - I appreciate the opportunity to learn about the lives of American's who gave all for their country. We owe them everything!
Copyright 2024, Created in the USA
General Disclaimer - This is a private sector project developed by Hello Pineapple LLC. Although we enter into collaborative associations with many supporting organizations, this site is not owned or operated by any Government body. All information found on this site has been obtained through fair use public contributions. We've done our best to craft a valuable and comprehensive product for the benefit of our world's collective history, however we make no claims of 100% accuracy. :)
Furthermore, the information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or contractural advice. Parts of this website may include sections that may be considered advertising in a broad sense. All information is current at the time of publication, however it is subject to change by it's very nature.