378:, began a concerted attack on the position. With North Korean artillery striking close by and ammunition running low, the platoon caught in cross fire in the rice paddies received permission to withdraw and rejoin the main body of the company as quickly as possible. PililaŹ»au's squad was assigned to stay back momentarily and cover the retreat. Eventually, only PililaŹ»au and his squad leader remained at the platoon's original position. The squad leader and forward observer Lt. Richard Hagar called in artillery fire continuously ahead of PililaŹ»au, trying to cover him while he moved also calling fire on the two hill tops, while PililaŹ»au continued to fight off the attack. At one point, Hagar became afraid that the artillery was too close and that he hit PililaŹ»au. Hagar called out for him, and PililaŹ»au said he was okay and told Hagar to keep going. After exhausting the ammunition for his BAR, PililaŹ»au began throwing hand grenades until those too were gone. As some of his comrades watched from their new position further down the ridge, PililaŹ»au threw rocks at the attackers before charging at them, wielding his
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Valiantly defending its position, the unit repulsed each attack until ammunition became practically exhausted and it was ordered to withdraw to a new position. Voluntarily remaining behind to cover the withdrawal, Pfc. Pililaau fired his automatic weapon into the ranks of the assailants, threw all his grenades and, with ammunition exhausted, closed with the foe in hand-to-hand combat, courageously fighting with his trench knife and bare fists until finally overcome and mortally wounded. When the position was subsequently retaken, more than 40 enemy dead were counted in the area he had so valiantly defended. His heroic devotion to duty, indomitable fighting spirit, and gallant self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.
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Pfc. Pililaau, a member of
Company C, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. The enemy sent wave after wave of fanatical troops against his platoon which held a key terrain feature on "Heartbreak Ridge."
442:, in PililaŹ»au's honor. Thirty-one members of his extended family were given a tour of the ship on December 10, 2003, when it made its first docking in Hawaii. Also named for PililaŹ»au are a live-fire range at Makua Military Reservation, a park in his hometown of Wai'anae, and the
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On
September 17, 1951, Company C and two other companies were tasked with capturing Hill 931, one of Heartbreak Ridge's two identifiable peaks, from North Korean forces. When Company C's attack stalled on a ridgeline which ran south from the main peak, PililaŹ»au's
342:(BAR). In August, PililaŹ»au participated in the Battle of Bloody Ridge, in which the 2nd Infantry Division attacked and captured a ridge in east central Korea. Their next objective was a hill mass just to the north, near
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in
Honolulu on February 26, 1952. For his actions on Heartbreak Ridge, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor later that year, on June 18. He was the first Hawaiian to receive the Medal of Honor.
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faith made him unsure of killing others but decided against this idea. PililaŹ»au was sent to Korea in March 1951 and served as a
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until being overrun and killed. For these actions, Pililaau was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
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in 1948, PililaŹ»au studied administration, secretarial work, and accounting at Cannon
Business School.
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William Kaluhi PililaŹ»au and Abigail Keolalani Kailieha, in a working-class suburb of
686:""Korean War - Years of Stalemate", p.9, www.army.mil (official site of the U.S. Army)"
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Their war for Korea: American, Asian, and
European combatants and civilians, 1945ā1953
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with one hand and punching with the other. He was soon surrounded and killed by
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set up a defensive perimeter ahead of the rest of the company. With the help of
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soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the
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forces. Alone, Pililaau held off the assault using his automatic rifle and
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and, after exhausting all available ammunition, engaged the attackers in
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Burials in the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
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player as well as an avid reader. After graduating from
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American military personnel of Native
Hawaiian descent
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American military personnel killed in the Korean War
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PililaŹ»au's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
346:, which would come to be known as Heartbreak Ridge.
210:(October 10, 1928 – September 17, 1951) was a
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414:Aged 22 at his death, PililaŹ»au was buried at the
783:United States Army personnel of the Korean War
629:"Medal of Honor winner gets another accolade"
603:United States Army Center of Military History
508:United States Army Center of Military History
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763:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
486:List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
314:. He briefly considered declaring himself a
768:Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor
338:'s automatic rifleman, PililaŹ»au carried a
234:in early 1951, Pililaau participated as an
16:United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
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306:Drafted into the Army, PililaŹ»au attended
35:Medal of Honor recipient Herbert PililaŹ»au
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416:National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
226:who was born and raised on the island of
97:National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
710:Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients
654:Kakesako, Gregg K. (December 14, 2003).
627:Kakesako, Gregg K. (December 11, 2003).
599:"Medal of Honor recipients - Korean War"
540:. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's. pp.
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656:"Navy vessel visits her isle roots"
568:Cole, William (December 11, 2003).
570:"USNS Pililaau reflects gallantry"
506:from websites or documents of the
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266:PililaŹ»au was born and raised in
605:. August 3, 2009. Archived from
502: This article incorporates
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444:Pililaau Army Recreation Center
282:and his mother, Abigail, spoke
753:Military personnel from Hawaii
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778:United States Army soldiers
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532:Millett, Allan R. (2002).
402:anchored off the coast of
244:Battle of Heartbreak Ridge
208:Herbert Kailieha PililaŹ»au
178:Battle of Heartbreak Ridge
23:Herbert Kailieha PililaŹ»au
334:. Volunteering to be his
272:the Leeward coast of Oahu
218:, for his actions in the
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432:Military Sealift Command
340:Browning Automatic Rifle
242:. During the subsequent
108:United States of America
575:The Honolulu Advertiser
450:Medal of Honor citation
661:Honolulu Star-Bulletin
634:Honolulu Star-Bulletin
504:public domain material
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368:13th Infantry Regiment
328:23rd Infantry Regiment
316:conscientious objector
240:Battle of Bloody Ridge
173:Battle of Bloody Ridge
154:23rd Infantry Regiment
706:"Herbert K. Pililaau"
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332:2nd Infantry Division
274:in what was then the
158:2nd Infantry Division
131:Years of service
376:Korean People's Army
422:In January 2000 in
324:private first class
296:Waipahu High School
276:Territory of Hawaii
256:hand to hand combat
176: •
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143:Private First Class
428:United States Navy
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236:automatic rifleman
212:United States Army
125:United States Army
67:September 17, 1951
551:978-1-57488-534-7
440: (T-AKR-304)
390:Legacy and honors
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478:Biography portal
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302:Military service
280:Native Hawaiians
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82:Gangwon Province
74:Heartbreak Ridge
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51:October 10, 1928
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607:the original
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380:trench knife
372:6th Division
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312:Fort Shafter
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248:North Korean
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200:Purple Heart
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164:Battles/wars
69:(1951-09-17)
743:1951 deaths
738:1928 births
424:New Orleans
152:Company C,
732:Categories
667:2009-09-14
640:2009-09-14
613:2009-09-13
581:2009-09-14
492:References
436:USNS
408:California
364:battalions
262:Early life
220:Korean War
168:Korean War
104:Allegiance
47:1928-10-10
410:, in 2008
398:The USNS
356:artillery
320:Christian
318:, as his
719:July 26,
464:See also
438:Pililaau
400:Pililaau
288:Hawaiian
268:WaiŹ»anae
114:Service/
54:WaiŹ»anae
384:bayonet
366:of the
352:platoon
292:ukulele
284:English
238:in the
184:†
134:to 1951
58:HawaiŹ»i
548:
544:ā225.
426:, the
360:mortar
344:Pia-ri
192:Awards
180:
116:branch
336:squad
232:Korea
228:OŹ»ahu
86:Korea
721:2010
698:2010
546:ISBN
286:and
222:. A
149:Unit
139:Rank
64:Died
41:Born
542:221
310:at
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
