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control. Upon recovering the second time, Lieutenant
Herring resolutely climbed down to the pilot house and, fighting against his rapidly waning strength, took over the helm, established communication with the engine room and carried on valiantly until relief could be obtained. When no longer able to stand, he propped himself against empty shell cases and rallied his men to the aid of the wounded; he maintained position in the firing line with his 20-mm guns in action in the face of sustained enemy fire and conned his crippled ship to safety. His unwavering fortitude, aggressive perseverance and indomitable spirit against terrific odds reflect the highest credit upon Lieutenant Herring and uphold the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
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s heavy guns and whipped her decks into sheets of flame. Regaining consciousness despite profuse bleeding he was again critically wounded when a
Japanese mortar crashed the conning station, instantly killing or fatally wounding most of the officers and leaving the ship wallowing without navigational
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counterfire and went out of control. Despite very serious wounds that left him gravely weakened, Herring took the helm, rallied his men, and kept the ship in action. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty," he was awarded the Medal of
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operating as a unit of LCI (G) Group EIGHT, during the preinvasion attack on Iwo Jima on 17 February 1945. Boldly closing the strongly fortified shores under the devastating fire of
Japanese coastal defense guns, Lieutenant (then Lieutenant, Junior Grade,) Herring directed shattering barrages of
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for hospitalization, Herring was promoted to lieutenant in August 1945. In April 1947, he was transferred to the retired list with the rank of lieutenant commander. Rufus G. Herring subsequently returned to his hometown of
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and remained her commanding officer during the next year and a half. Herring was promoted to lieutenant, junior grade, in March 1944 and between
February and July of that year he participated in the invasions of
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fraternity on
February 3, 1939. After graduating in the spring of 1942, Rufus Herring enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve and subsequently attended the Naval Reserve Midshipman School in
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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 LCI (G)
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40-mm. and 20-mm. gunfire against hostile beaches until struck down by the enemy's savage counterfire which blasted the
316:, North Carolina, where he pursued a business career. He died on January 31, 1996, and is buried in Roseboro Cemetery.
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Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Rufus
Herring's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
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In
February 1945 Herring's ship, by then designated a gunboat landing craft (
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officer and a recipient of
America's highest military decoration—the
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295:. On February 17, while shelling enemy positions in support of
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List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Battle of Iwo Jima
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201:(June 11, 1921 – January 31, 1996) was a
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447:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
442:United States Navy personnel of World War II
241:. After being commissioned in the rank of
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299:swimmers, the ship was heavily hit by
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467:People from Roseboro, North Carolina
408:Naval History & Heritage Command
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390:from websites or documents of the
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365:List of Medal of Honor recipients
386: This article incorporates
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401:"US People - Herring, Rufus G."
245:in December 1942, he received
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297:Underwater Demolition Team
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96:United States of America
77:Roseboro, North Carolina
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462:Davidson College alumni
320:Medal of Honor citation
221:Rufus Herring attended
142:LCI(L)-449 / LCI(G)-449
388:public domain material
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259:infantry landing craft
251:University of Illinois
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119:Years of service
209:—for his actions in
199:Rufus Geddie Herring
131:Lieutenant commander
20:Rufus Geddie Herring
249:instruction at the
158:Battle of Kwajalein
75:Roseboro Cemetery,
457:Battle of Iwo Jima
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59:(1996-01-31)
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426:Categories
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376:References
289:LCI(G)-449
264:LCI(L)-449
84:Allegiance
41:1921-06-11
270:Kwajalein
262:USS
217:Biography
122:1942–1947
343:See also
314:Roseboro
301:Japanese
293:Iwo Jima
227:Davidson
137:Commands
102:Service/
64:Roseboro
304:Honor.
278:Tinian
274:Saipan
243:ensign
187:Awards
104:branch
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335:449'
282:Guam
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127:Rank
54:Died
35:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
