Ben L. Solomon, a US Army dentist, single-handedly fought off a charge of approximately 5,000 Japanese soldiers during the Battle of Saipan in World War II. On July 7, 1944, Solomon, who was running a forward field aid station, killed several enemy soldiers who were attacking his patients, and later, when the station was being overrun, he chose to stay behind and cover the evacuation of his patients. Solomon manned an abandoned machine gun, firing at the enemy troops, and eventually sacrificed his life to save others. His body was found surrounded by 98 dead Japanese soldiers, and he had been shot 24 times. Solomon's bravery was not fully recognized until 2002, when he was awarded the Medal of Honor, nearly 60 years after his death.
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6. The podcast episode is about Ben L. Solomon, a dentist who fought in World War II.
7. Ben L. Solomon was born in 1914 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
8. Solomon was drafted into the US Army in 1940 and was assigned to the infantry as a private.
9. He was quickly transferred to the Army Dental Corps and was commissioned as a first lieutenant.
10. By 1944, Solomon had risen to the rank of captain and was assigned to the 27th Infantry Division.
11. The 27th Infantry Division was nicknamed the "Orion's Roughnecks" due to its Irish New York roots.
12. In June 1944, Solomon's division was transferred to Pearl Harbor to join a large US amphibious invasion force.
13. The US force was set to invade the Japanese-held Mariana Islands.
14. The Mariana Islands were strategically important to the US, as capturing them would allow the new US B-29 Super Fortress heavy bombers to be stationed within range of the Japanese mainland.
15. On June 15th, 1944, 8,000 Marines supported by amphibious tanks landed ashore at Saipan, one of the most important islands in the Mariana Island group.
16. The Japanese were well-prepared on Saipan, with numerous minefields, barbed wire, pillboxes, and entrenched troops.
17. The Japanese launched several major counter-attacks, including fighter-bomber aircraft.
18. By nightfall, the US forces had secured a beachhead and were pouring ashore in increasing numbers.
19. Solomon and the Roughnecks landed ashore and joined in the fighting the next day.
20. Over the next few weeks, the Japanese continued to counter-attack, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
21. Solomon volunteered to move up to the front line to replace the battalion surgeon who had been severely wounded.
22. On July 7th, Solomon found himself supervising a forward field aid station at the edge of the front line.
23. The enemy unexpectedly launched a final major counter-attack, with 5,000 Japanese soldiers charging forward with bayonets fixed.
24. The ill-prepared Americans were caught by surprise, and the Japanese succeeded in breaking through the forward perimeter of the American front line.
25. Solomon stayed at his post and continued to attend to the growing number of wounded that were arriving at the station.
26. He saw Japanese soldiers starting to bayonet some of the helpless wounded patients outside the station's main medical tent.
27. Solomon grabbed a nearby M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle and killed the enemy soldiers.
28. He then returned inside the main tent to try to continue his job of saving the lives of the patients.
29. Moments later, two other Japanese soldiers stormed into the tent itself, and Solomon reacted quickly and shot them both dead.
30. Realizing the situation would soon become hopeless, Solomon ordered the station to be evacuated immediately.
31. He chose to stay behind to cover their retreat, saying "I'll hold them off until you get them to safety. See you later."
32. Solomon single-handedly manned an abandoned heavy machine gun, firing burst after burst into the enemy troops that overwhelmed the station in a mass attack.
33. He sacrificed his life so others could evacuate.
34. When the US Army retook the station a few days later, Solomon's dead body was found surrounded by 98 dead Japanese soldiers.
35. It is said that he had been shot 24 times before finally succumbing to his wounds.
36. After he was dead, the Japanese troops continued to shoot and bayonet him, leaving his body badly mutilated and barely recognizable.
37. Solomon was just 29 years old at the time of his death.
38. During the three weeks of intense fighting on Saipan, there were around 43,000 American and Japanese casualties.
39. There were also a further 22,000 civilians who lost their lives in the fighting.
40. Thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians committed suicide rather than face the shame of surrendering.
41. Solomon was not truly recognized for his selfless heroism and sacrifice until 2002, nearly 60 years after his death.
42. He was awarded America's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, in 2002.
43. The reason why it had taken so long for Solomon's bravery to be fully recognized was that the Geneva Convention stated that military medical personnel cannot use weapons in battle.
44. However, the US authorities had misinterpreted this rule, which was meant to apply only in offensive situations, whereas in Solomon's case, he was clearly using it to defend himself and protect his men.