Medal of Honor recipients take stage today

One of the largest — if not the largest — gatherings of World War II Medal of Honor recipients will take place today in conjunction with dedication events at the Dole Institute of Politics.

Four Medal of Honor recipients will speak and a total of 15 surviving medal recipients from World War II are scheduled to attend the opening Memory Tent program today. Just 52 of the original 464 veterans who earned the honor during the war are still alive.

Panel members at the event, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Memory Tent outside the Lied Center and Dole Institute on Kansas University’s west campus, are:

Robert Eugene Bush, Olympia, Wash., who risked life and limb at Iwo Jima to attend the wounded falling under the enemy’s murderous barrages.

According to his citation: “As the attack passed over a ridge top, Hospital Apprentice First Class Bush was advancing to administer blood plasma to a Marine officer lying wounded on the skyline when the Japanese launched a savage counterattack. In this perilously exposed position, he resolutely maintained the flow of life-giving plasma. With the bottle held high in one hand, Bush drew his pistol with the other and fired into the enemy’s ranks until his ammunition was expended.

Quickly seizing a discarded carbine, he trained his fire on the Japanese charging point-blank over the hill, accounting for six of the enemy despite his own serious wounds and the loss of one eye suffered during his desperate battle in defense of the helpless man.”

Mike Colalillo, Duluth, Minn., who as a private in a battle near Untergriesheim, Germany, led his comrades in advance in the face of savage enemy fire.

“When his weapon was struck by shrapnel and rendered useless, Pfc. Colalillo climbed to the deck of a friendly tank, manned an exposed machine gun on the turret of the vehicle, and, while bullets rattled about him, fired at an enemy emplacement with such devastating accuracy that he killed or wounded at least 10 hostile soldiers and destroyed their machine gun,” his citation reads.

Walter D. Ehlers, Buena Park, Calif., who spearheaded an attack near Goville, France.

According to his citation: “Without waiting for an order, Staff Sgt. Ehlers, far ahead of his men, led his squad against a strongly defended enemy strong point, personally killing four of an enemy patrol who attacked him en route.

“Then, crawling forward under withering machine-gun fire, he pounced upon the gun crew and put it out of action. Turning his attention to two mortars protected by the crossfire of two machine guns, Staff Sgt. Ehlers led his men through this hail of bullets to kill or put to flight the enemy of the mortar section, killing three men himself.”

Jack H. Lucas, Hattiesburg, Miss., a Marine private who helped repel an ambush on Iwo Jima.

“Quick to act when the lives of the small group were endangered by two grenades that landed directly in front of them, Pfc. Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon one grenade and pulled the other under him, absorbing the whole blasting forces of the explosions in his own body in order to shield his companions from the concussion and murderous flying fragments,” his citation reads.

Others recipients scheduled to attend: Desmond T. Doss, Joe Hayashi, Robert D. Maxwell, Charles P. Murray Jr., Nicholas Oresko, Mitchell Paige, Everett P. Pope, Wilburn K. Ross, Alejandro R. Ruiz, George E. Wahlen and Hershel W. Williams.