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of his men, Second
Lieutenant Leims soundly maintained the coordinated strength of his battle-wearied company under extremely difficult conditions and, by his bold tactics, sustained aggressiveness and heroic disregard of all personal danger, contributed essentially to the success of his division's operations against this vital Japanese base. His valiant conduct in the face of fanatic opposition sustained and enhanced the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps.
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fire, located and carried to safety one seriously wounded Marine and then, running the gauntlet of enemy fire for the third time that night, again made his tortuous way into the bullet-riddled deathtrap and rescued another of his wounded men. A dauntless leader, concerned at all times for the welfare
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on
February 24, 1945, he was slightly wounded by a shell fragment on February 27, but returned to duty on the same day. On March 3, due to heavy casualties, he became company commander (B-1-9), a position usually filled by a captain. On March 7, he led his company in a surprise attack against a
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Promoted to first lieutenant on June 1, 1945, he returned to the United States that
November and was detached from active duty on January 25, 1946. On June 14 of that year, he was temporarily recalled to active duty to receive the Medal of Honor, presented to him by President
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For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as
Commanding Officer of Company B, First Battalion, Ninth Marines, Third Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the
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A member of the 9th
Reserve District, Leims was subsequently promoted to captain in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1956, and retired on July 1, 1962. He died on June 28, 1985, at the age of 64.
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for two and a half years, and worked part-time at the
Commonwealth Edison Company. He left college in 1941 following his marriage, and worked subsequently for the
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strongly fortified enemy hill position, succeeded in capturing the objective, and in spite of withering fire returned forward to rescue two of his wounded men.
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On June 29, 1944, 2nd Lt Leims went overseas again and rejoined the 3rd Marine
Division. This time, he was a company officer in a rifle company of the
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Company; the
Paschen Construction Company; the Naval Station at Great Lakes, Illinois, and the Austin Construction Company.
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B Company, 1st
Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division
543:"Medal of Honor – 2ndLt John H. Leims (Medal of Honor citation)"
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US Marine Corps officer and Medal of Honor recipient (1921–1985)
549:. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Archived from
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List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima
229:, on June 8, 1921. He attended St. Hilary Parochial School,
474:"Burial Detail: Leims, John H (Section 2, Grave 1132-2)"
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United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients
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United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
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for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
362:takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
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480:. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website).
424:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
288:and was assigned to the 3rd Service Battalion,
530:. History Division, United States Marine Corps
623:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
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608:Military personnel from Evanston, Illinois
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490:2dLt John Leims Medal of Honor citation,
217:for his heroic actions on March 7, 1945.
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231:Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary
598:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
205:(June 8, 1921 – June 28, 1985) was a
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286:Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
272:Grave at Arlington National Cemetery
613:United States Marine Corps officers
492:Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor.
280:on November 27, 1942, he completed
547:Marines Awarded the Medal of Honor
524:"Captain John Harold Leims, USMCR"
515:from websites or documents of the
369:UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE
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528:Who's Who in Marine Corps History
419:List of Medal of Honor recipients
511: This article incorporates
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366:SECOND LIEUTENANT JOHN H. LEIMS
252:After high school, he attended
360:President of the United States
225:John Harold Leims was born in
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343:Arlington National Cemetery
78:Arlington National Cemetery
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517:United States Marine Corps
213:as a second lieutenant on
114:United States Marine Corps
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235:Saint George High School
96:United States of America
35:Medal of Honor recipient
449:"Friday, June 14, 1946"
353:Medal of Honor citation
254:Northwestern University
513:public domain material
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247:Boy Scouts of America
243:Assistant Scoutmaster
233:, and graduated from
120:Years of service
455:. The Truman Library
278:Marine Corps Reserve
264:Marine Corps service
209:who was awarded the
566:"John Harold Leims"
453:The President's Day
392:/S/ HARRY S. TRUMAN
347:Arlington, Virginia
290:3rd Marine Division
618:Battle of Iwo Jima
296:and two months at
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341:He was buried at
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203:John Harold Leims
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170:World War II
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66:(1985-06-28)
51:June 8, 1921
588:1985 deaths
583:1921 births
386:machine-gun
333:White House
318:Landing on
309:9th Marines
298:Guadalcanal
294:New Zealand
221:Early years
151:9th Marines
577:Categories
534:2016-07-24
501:References
459:2006-04-26
335:ceremony.
85:Allegiance
47:1921-06-08
382:pillboxes
123:1942–1962
397:See also
320:Iwo Jima
215:Iwo Jima
157:Commands
102:Service/
245:in the
200:Captain
137:Captain
207:Marine
184:Awards
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104:branch
435:Notes
331:in a
358:The
313:Guam
143:Unit
128:Rank
61:Died
56:, US
41:Born
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