U.S. Remembers Soldier Who Saved Colleagues By ‘Throwing Himself On Grenade’

The United States Department of Defence, on Monday, praised late Marine Corps Pfc. Whitt L. Moreland, who was said to have lost his life while trying to save his colleagues during an ambush in Korea.

The U.S. Defence Department highlighted the soldier’s gallantry in commemoration of the nation’s Memorial Day – a federal holiday set apart for remembering the military personnel who have died in the line of duty.

Moreland was said to have alerted his colleagues about a grenade thrown into their midst.

According to the U.S. military, when Moreland noticed there was no escape for them, he covered himself on the explosive, thereby losing his own life.

“On May 29, 1951, a 21-year-old Moreland volunteered to go with a rifle platoon on a mission to assault a strongly defended enemy position on a hillside near Kwagch’i-Dong, Korea. They succeeded in taking over the enemy emplacement.

“Afterward, Moreland led a party to neutralize another enemy bunker he’d seen about 400 meters ahead. He and his fellow Marines pushed through a fire-swept area and were almost at the bunker when the enemy launched a volley of hand grenades at them.

“Moreland immediately started kicking several of the grenades off the ridgeline so they exploded out of harm’s way. But then he slipped while trying to kick another.

“There are only a few seconds between pulling the pin on a grenade and it going off, so Moreland had very little time to react. As if knowing he wouldn’t have time to get back on his feet before the ordinance blew, he did the one thing he could think of to save his comrades: He shouted a warning and then threw himself on top of the exploding grenade. To save his fellow Marines, Moreland gave his own life,” the department said.

The United States President Joe Biden, who joined other top officials at the Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, said the event was to honour “our fallen heroes at the 153rd National Memorial Day Observance.”