Richard Keith Sorenson — Medal of Honor
Near Minneapolis St Paul, Minnesota
Richard Keith Sorenson was a Marine Corps private first class from Anoka, Minnesota, who earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Namur Island in the Kwajalein Atoll on February first and second, nineteen forty-four. During the assault on the Marshall Islands, Sorenson threw himself on a Japanese grenade to shield his fellow Marines from the blast. Remarkably, he survived.
He absorbed the full blast, which badly wounded his legs, hip, and arm, but the other Marines in the shell hole survived. He was nineteen years old. Major General Joseph Fegan presented him the medal in nineteen forty-four.
Sorenson returned home to Minnesota and lived into old age, one of the rare recipients who lived to speak about what he did. This memorial stands near his hometown as a permanent tribute.
