This Day in History: “Doc” Hammond's Medal of Honor

On this day in 1953, a Navy medic is awarded the Medal of Honor. Francis “Doc” Hammond had worked “feverishly” to save lives in Korea, one eyewitness to his action said, noting that Hammond was “the bravest man I saw out there that night . . . his actions were an inspiration to all of us.”

Hospitalman 3rd Class Hammond had proven that he was made of stern stuff, right from the get-go.

“On his very first patrol, one of his comrades at the head of the group stepped on a mine,” Pfc. Robert S. Durham remembered.  “Doc charged through the whole group, and when he found that he could not get through the wire fast enough, he ran right through the minefield to treat the wounded man.”

Hammond’s Medal action came after he’d been in Korea for several weeks. The 5th Marines had been holding several outposts (Reno, Las Vegas, Carson City) when the enemy attacked on the night of March 26-27, 1953.

“Facing heavy artillery and machine gun fire,” a Naval History and Heritage Command summary explains, “outposts Las Vegas and Reno were swiftly overrun.  The marines stationed at Reno managed to retreat to a nearby cave, but the Chinese bombardment partially collapsed the cave and its entrance.”

A counterattack was ordered to retake the outpost and rescue the stranded Marines.

Needless to say, the hours that followed were difficult. Our Marines were badly outnumbered, and they were subjected to “a murderous barrage of hostile mortar and artillery fire,” as Hammond’s Medal citation describes, “followed by a vicious assault by onrushing enemy troops.”

Hammond was right in the thick of it, exposing himself to enemy fire so he could care for his Marines.

“He was all over the place patching up the wounded,” his platoon sergeant William Janzen marveled, “no matter, how slight their wounds . . . . [He] was the calmest and coolest person I saw out there that night. No matter whether a man was wounded or not he always had a few words of comfort and encouragement for everyone.”   

For four hours, Hammond continued on, running through enemy fire, treating the wounded, and evacuating them to relative safety when he could. He refused to quit, despite suffering a serious injury in one leg.

Even when his unit was ordered to withdraw, he stayed behind, helping as many Marines as possible. Unfortunately, he would not survive the night, instead suffering a mortal wound when mortar fire fell too close to him.

Hammond received a Medal of Honor for his action, just nine short months later. The Medal was presented to his infant son, born after his father’s brave sacrifice.

“[Secretary of the Navy Robert] Anderson told the baby and the roomful of high officials and the relatives of the corpsman,” newspapers reported at the time, “that his father richly deserved the honor for ‘his sublime act of sacrifice.’”

Perseverance.  Determination.  Bravery.  Self-Sacrifice.  How AMERICAN.

Rest in peace, Sir.

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Primary Sources:

• Baby Receives Decoration of Dead Father (Virginian-Pilot; Dec. 30, 1953) (p. 3)

• Bernard C. Nalty, Outpost War: U.S. Marines from the Nevada Battles to the Armistice (2003)

• Claudia Sanchez Bustamante, Dedicated Korean War Navy Medic Worked “Feverishly” to Save Lives (Health.mil; Sept. 22, 2022)

• Eric Lockwood, On This Date: Korean War Navy Veteran Earns Medal of Honor (CHIPS: The Department of the Navy’s Information Technology Magazine; March 27, 2015)

• Eric Lockwood, The Anniversary of Francis C. Hammond’s Acts of Valor (Alexandria Living; Mar. 26, 2018)

• Francis Hammond (DE-1067): 1970-1995 (Naval History and Heritage Command)

• Hildy Herfurth, Alexandrian Commended in Ceremony at Pentagon (Times Herald; Dec. 30, 1953) (p. 1)

• Hospitalman Francis Colton Hammond, USN (deceased) (U.S. Marine Corps website)

• Medal of Honor citation (Francis Colton Hammond; Korea)

• Navy Hospital Corpsman Wins Medal of Honor (Morning Union; Dec. 29. 1953) (p. 20)

• Sergeant Major Maurice J. Jacques, USMC (Ret.) & Major Bruce H. Norton, USMC (Ret.), Sergeant Major, U. S. Marines: The Biography of Sergeant Major Maruice J. Jacques, USMC (2013)