George H. Cannon

George Ham Cannon
George H. Cannon, Medal of Honor recipient
Born	(1915-11-05)November 5, 1915 Webster Groves, Missouri
Died	December 7, 1941(1941-12-07) (aged 26) Sand Island, Midway Islands
Place of burial	National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1938–1941
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	6th Defense Battalion
Battles/wars	World War II First Bombardment of Midway  †
Awards	Medal of Honor Purple Heart Medal

First Lieutenant George Ham Cannon, USMC, (November 5, 1915 – December 7, 1941) was the first U.S. Marine in World War II to receive the nation's highest military award—the Medal of Honor.

He posthumously received the medal for "distinguished conduct in the line of his profession, extraordinary courage, and disregard of his own condition" during the bombardment of Midway Island by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. He remained at his Command Post despite being mortally wounded by enemy shell fire. He refused to be evacuated until his men who had been wounded by the same shell were evacuated, and he continued to direct the reorganization of his Command Post until forcibly removed. He refused medical attention until he was assured communications were restored to his Command Post. As a result of his utter disregard of his own condition, he later died from loss of blood.