Arnold L. Bjorklund
U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient (1918–1979)
Arnold L. Bjorklund (April 14, 1918 – November 28, 1979) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Biography
Bjorklund joined the Army from Seattle, Washington, in February 1941, and by September 13, 1943, was serving as a first lieutenant in the 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. On that day, near Altavilla, Italy, he single-handedly attacked and destroyed two German machine gun emplacements and a mortar position. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later, on September 6, 1944.
Bjorklund left the Army while still a first lieutenant. He died at age 61 and was buried in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.
Medal of Honor citation
First Lieutenant Bjorklund's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, September 13, 1943. When his company attacked a German position on Hill 424, the first platoon, led by 1st Lt. Bjorklund, moved forward on the right flank to the slope of the hill where it was pinned down by a heavy concentration of machinegun and rifle fire. Ordering his men to give covering fire, with only 3 hand grenades, he crept and crawled forward to a German machinegun position located on a terrace along the forward slope. Approaching within a few yards of the position, and while continuously exposed to enemy fire, he hurled 1 grenade into the nest, destroyed the gun and killed 3 Germans.
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This entry incorporates text from “Arnold L. Bjorklund” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.