= = = = > USS Ozbourn (DD-846) < = = = =
Commissioned: March 5, 1946
Decommissioned: June 1, 1975
Length: 390.5 ft
Beam: 40 ft 1 in
Speed: 35 knots
Complement: 336
Armament when built: six 5"/38 cal guns, sixteen 40 mm AA guns, twenty 20 mm AA guns, five 21 inch torpedo tubes, six depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks
Honors/Awards: Meritorious Unit Commendation, Battle Efficiency “E”
= = = = > Joseph W Ozbourn < = = = =
The Medal of Honor was bestowed (posthumously) for his actions during World War II during the Battle of Tinian on July 30, 1944.
Other honors/awards: Purple Heart
Medal of Honor citation: "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a Browning Automatic Rifleman serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-Third Marines, Fourth Marine Division, during the battle for enemy Japanese-held Tinian Island, Marianas Islands, 30 July 1944. As a member of a platoon assigned the mission of clearing the remaining Japanese troops from dugouts and pillboxes along a tree line, Private Ozbourn, flanked by two men on either side, was moving forward to throw an armed hand grenade into a dugout when a terrific blast from the entrance severely wounded the four men and himself. Unable to throw the grenade into the dugout and with no place to hurl it without endangering the other men, Private Ozbourn unhesitatingly grasped it close to his body and fell upon it, sacrificing his own life to absorb the full impact of the explosion but saving his comrades. His great personal valor and unwavering loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Private Ozbourn and the United States Naval service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."
"There is no greater sacrifice nor noble deed of service than to lay down one's life for the security of another."