George H. O’Brien Jr., 78; Marine Earned Medal of Honor in Korean War

George H. O’Brien Jr., 78, who earned a Medal of Honor in the Korean War for leading a charge to capture a hill held by the enemy despite being wounded, died March 11 in Midland, Texas, of complications of emphysema.

Born in Fort Worth, O’Brien served in the merchant marine during World War II. He later earned a degree in geology at Texas Tech and spent most of his career as a petroleum geologist in Texas and New Mexico. During his college years, he also enlisted as a private in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Called to duty during the Korean War, O’Brien had risen to second lieutenant and was commanding a rifle platoon when Chinese troops overran several U.S. positions on a fishhook-shaped hill called the Hook on Oct. 26, 1952.

Counterattacking the next day, O’Brien led his men up the hill through enemy fire, sustaining a wound to his arm. He paused to aid another wounded Marine, then threw grenades into enemy bunkers and fought in hand-to-hand combat, killing at least three Chinese. Refusing medical evacuation, he continued to lead the attack for four hours and covered the withdrawal when his unit was relieved.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented O’Brien’s medal a year afterward “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”