Often while reading of wartime heroics we imagine our heroes to be Camo-clad Lone gunslingers, but that is not always the case. Have you ever visited your local dentist for a checkup and imagined him or her in the gunslinger image? If not, then here's something to help you with it
Benjamin L. Salomon graduated Dental School at USC in 1937, but this guy wasn’t your stereotypical mild-mannered dentist who collected stamps and helped little kids in the waiting room find the answers to Highlights word searches. This guy was an Eagle Scout, had an iron constitution, and could run for days without tiring. When he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940 he left his private dentistry practice, rated Expert Marksman during rifle and pistol qualification, and was declared the “best all-around soldier” in the 102nd Infantry Regiment according to his commanding officer. By the time World War II actually started for the U.S. at the end of 1941, Salomon was a Sergeant in command of a machine gun section.
The Brass decided they needed him more as a dentist than a soldier, and hence he was reassigned to the 105th Infantry as a Dentist. He first saw combat during the battle of Saipan, where he came ashore. The Japanese at Saipan were bent on making the Americans pay in blood for every inch of ground they gained. And since a Dentist was not really required over there, Salomon requested and transferred to the unit's Surgeon so that he may help in the effort.
The Field hospital was set up barely 50 yards behind the frontline. That's almost as big as a football field. There were shots ripping through the foliage, aircraft flying over, and all the while Ben Salomon was tending to the wounded soldiers.
When the Japanese realized that defeat was imminent, their commanding officer ordered the men to undertake a Banzai charge on the American lines, and that is when the Japanese managed to break through.
One soldier jumped out of the foliage near Salomon's hospital and began bayoneting wounded and sick soldiers lying on the ground. He was promptly shot by Salomon. He turned back to the operating table only to see two more Japanese troops bust into the tent, guns at the ready. They were so close that Salomon just swung his rifle like a baseball bat, clubbing the first guy, jamming the butt of the rifle in the second guy’s stomach with lightning speed, shooting and bayoneting them.
When four more Japanese soldiers managed to crawl in from under the tent, Salomon kicked the knife out of one's hand, shot the second, picked up the knife and stabbed the third, and head-butted the fourth in the stomach. The latter was shot when one of the patients managed to retrieve his pistol.
When orders to retreat and regroup came through, Salomon grabbed a rifle, and ordered his men to retreat and get the wounded into fallback position. He volunteered to cover the retreat. He was last seen by an orderly, spraying fire from a .30 in wide arcs as enemy soldiers charged at him mercilessly.
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When the Island was finally secured, and an American squad returned to the site, they found Salomon's body with a pile of 98 Japanese dead bodies in front of him. He had been bayoneted about 76 times, half of which were received when he was alive. The blood trail, which was examined by a doctor, suggested that despite being mortally wounded, Salomon had changed his position four times while fighting the Japanese.
Benjamin L. Salomon graduated Dental School at USC in 1937, but this guy wasn’t your stereotypical mild-mannered dentist who collected stamps and helped little kids in the waiting room find the answers to Highlights word searches. This guy was an Eagle Scout, had an iron constitution, and could run for days without tiring. When he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940 he left his private dentistry practice, rated Expert Marksman during rifle and pistol qualification, and was declared the “best all-around soldier” in the 102nd Infantry Regiment according to his commanding officer. By the time World War II actually started for the U.S. at the end of 1941, Salomon was a Sergeant in command of a machine gun section.
The Brass decided they needed him more as a dentist than a soldier, and hence he was reassigned to the 105th Infantry as a Dentist. He first saw combat during the battle of Saipan, where he came ashore. The Japanese at Saipan were bent on making the Americans pay in blood for every inch of ground they gained. And since a Dentist was not really required over there, Salomon requested and transferred to the unit's Surgeon so that he may help in the effort.
The Field hospital was set up barely 50 yards behind the frontline. That's almost as big as a football field. There were shots ripping through the foliage, aircraft flying over, and all the while Ben Salomon was tending to the wounded soldiers.
When the Japanese realized that defeat was imminent, their commanding officer ordered the men to undertake a Banzai charge on the American lines, and that is when the Japanese managed to break through.
One soldier jumped out of the foliage near Salomon's hospital and began bayoneting wounded and sick soldiers lying on the ground. He was promptly shot by Salomon. He turned back to the operating table only to see two more Japanese troops bust into the tent, guns at the ready. They were so close that Salomon just swung his rifle like a baseball bat, clubbing the first guy, jamming the butt of the rifle in the second guy’s stomach with lightning speed, shooting and bayoneting them.
When four more Japanese soldiers managed to crawl in from under the tent, Salomon kicked the knife out of one's hand, shot the second, picked up the knife and stabbed the third, and head-butted the fourth in the stomach. The latter was shot when one of the patients managed to retrieve his pistol.
When orders to retreat and regroup came through, Salomon grabbed a rifle, and ordered his men to retreat and get the wounded into fallback position. He volunteered to cover the retreat. He was last seen by an orderly, spraying fire from a .30 in wide arcs as enemy soldiers charged at him mercilessly.
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When the Island was finally secured, and an American squad returned to the site, they found Salomon's body with a pile of 98 Japanese dead bodies in front of him. He had been bayoneted about 76 times, half of which were received when he was alive. The blood trail, which was examined by a doctor, suggested that despite being mortally wounded, Salomon had changed his position four times while fighting the Japanese.
