George H. O'Brien, Jr.

George Herman O'Brien Jr. (September 10, 1926 – March 11, 2005) was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the Medal of Honor, the United States's highest military decoration, for his actions during the First Battle of the Hook in the Korean War.

Biography O'Brien was born on September 10, 1926, in Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated from Big Spring High School in Big Spring, Texas, in 1944. From December 1944 until May 1946, he was a seaman in the United States Merchant Marine. He then entered Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology in May 1950. While in college, he enlisted as a private in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in July 1949.

Ordered to active duty on November 27, 1951, he entered the Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia. He completed that course in February 1952, and entered the Basic Course the following month, graduating in August 1952. After further training at Camp Pendleton, California, he embarked for Korea in September 1952, where he joined the 1st Marine Division.

By October 27, 1952, he was serving as a second lieutenant with Company H of the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines. On that day, he spearheaded the capture of an enemy-held hill while wounded by enemy fire. For this action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during a White House ceremony on October 27, 1953, exactly one year to the day after the action for which he was cited.

He was promoted to major in the Reserve in 1963.

After his military service, O'Brien returned to west Texas and raised a family. He was an active volunteer at the Big Spring Veterans Administration medical center. In turn, on April 15, 2005, the Texas State Senate adopted Senate Resolution Number 399, "In Memory of George Herman O'Brien, Jr."

A scholarship at Texas Tech University which provides funding for U.S. Marines and their children was named in his honor. At the VA medical center where O'Brien volunteered, a statue of his likeness was unveiled in November 2008.

Quotes "This Medal of Honor is not mine; I hold it in trust for so many young people who didn't become grandfathers."