MEDAL FOR METTLE ARMY DENTIST FINALLY RECOGNIZED FOR WWII BRAVERY.Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dr. Robert West Robert West (b. 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and world-renowned chemist best known for his groundbreaking research in silicon chemistry, as well as for his work with oxocarbons and organolithium compounds. of Calabasas never met Army Capt. Ben Louis Salomon, who sacrificed his life during the battle for Saipan in 1944. But the man the dogged advocate now calls ``Dr. Ben'' was a fellow World War II veteran, University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission graduate and dentist - and a genuine hero. That was more than enough for West. On Wednesday, West and his wife, Gloria, will join President George W. Bush in the White House Rose Garden for presentation of the Medal of Honor Medal of Honor highest American military decoration for wartime gallantry. [Am. Hist.: Misc.] See : Bravery earned by Salomon nearly 58 years earlier. West, 75, who retired in 1984 after 32 years in dental practice Noun 1. dental practice - the practice of dentistry practice - the exercise of a profession; "the practice of the law"; "I took over his practice when he retired" in Encino, launched his quest in 1995 while researching notable alumni for USC's centennial celebration. He came across a brief report on Salomon, a 1937 USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. Dental School Noun 1. dental school - a graduate school offering study leading to degrees in dentistry school of dentistry grad school, graduate school - a school in a university offering study leading to degrees beyond the bachelor's degree grad. It noted that Salomon had been unjustly denied the nation's highest military honor on the grounds that he was a medical officer and, therefore, ineligible. ``For a long time I didn't think this was going to happen,'' said West, who spent the next five years collecting documents, weaving through the Pentagon's maze of regulations and chains of command, and working with the staff of Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills. ``But it has been a labor of love.'' Gloria, Robert's high school sweetheart and his wife of 56 years, never had a doubt: ``This was going to happen. My husband's like a dog with a bone when he really gets interested in something.'' Robert West, a 1952 USC Dental School grad who trained during World War II as a Marine Corps medic medic: see alfalfa. , said he was further moved to act when he learned that Salomon's long-dead mother and father never learned of their son's valor valor a rodenticide no longer marketed because of toxicity in horses causing dehydration, abdominal pain, hindlimb weakness, inappetence, fishy smell in urine. Called also N-3-pyridyl methyl N1-p-nitrophenyl urea. . ``They only knew that he had been killed in action,'' said West. ``They didn't even get a Purple Heart.'' The remains of all three Salomons are interred at Forest Lawn in Glendale. The only son of Ben and Bess Salomon grew up in West Los Angeles
Uncle Sam came looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. Salomon in 1940. Among the first men called up in the initial peacetime draft, Salomon had to give up his Los Angeles dental practice and entered the Army as an infantry private. He excelled at combat training at Fort Ord, near Monterey, and was a crack shot with a machine gun. On weekends, said West, Salomon drove groups of his fellow draftees to Los Angeles and treated their dental problems. By July 7, 1944, the Army had turned Salomon back into a dentist and promoted him to captain and senior medical officer of the 107th Infantry Division on the Pacific island of Saipan. He was in a tent aid station, tending to dozens of wounded soldiers when 5,000 Japanese troops launched a desperate suicide charge. Salomon was soon engaged in hand-to-hand combat with enemy troops who were attacking the wounded. The two machine gunners assigned to defend his aid station had been killed. According to research compiled by West, Salomon ordered enlisted medics to evacuate the wounded to a rear area. ``I'll hold them off until you get them to safety,'' Salomon told the medics as he took aim with a machine gun. ``See you later.'' Salomon's patients and medics all made it out of the battle zone. His body was found at his post the next day, finger still on the machine gun trigger. Ninety-eight dead Japanese attackers littered the ground around his position. Ensuing efforts to nominate Salomon for the Medal of Honor were quashed by the 107th's commanders, who interpreted the rules of the 1929 Geneva Convention Geneva Convention Declaration of Geneva Global village A standard established in 1864 regarding the conduct of the military towards medical personnel, and obligations of medical personnel during acts of war. , which barred medical personnel from combat, to mean that Solomon was ineligible for battle honors. ``They got it wrong,'' West said. ``The Geneva Convention barred medics from taking up arms offensively. But it allowed defensive actions, especially those taken on behalf of patients. And that's exactly what Dr. Ben did that day.'' Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials finally concurred with West in March and notified him of the upcoming medal ceremony. Bush is scheduled to present the medal to West and Maj. Gen. Patrick Sculley, chief of the Army Dental Corps. The medal itself will go on display at the Army Dental Corps headquarters in San Antonio, Texas “San Antonio” redirects here. For other uses, see San Antonio (disambiguation). San Antonio is the second most populous city in Texas, the third most populous metropolitan area in Texas, and is the seventh most populous city in the United States. As of the 2006 U.S. . A replica will be enshrined at the USC Dental School. ``I'm excited about seeing the president and very appreciative that this injustice is finally being corrected,'' West said. He also will be at the Pentagon on Thursday when Salomon's name will be added those of more than 3,400 Medal of Honor winners inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. on the walls of the Hall of Honor. ``But mostly I'm happy for Dr. Ben, the soldier dentist.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Dr. Robert West holds a picture of Medal of Honor winner Ben Salomon, who died defending a medical aid station in Saipan. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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