*GURKE, HENRY
Rank and organization: Private First Class,
U.S. Marine Corps. Born: 6 November 1922, Neche, N. Dak. Accredited to:
North Dakota.
Citation:
For extraordinary heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty while attached to
the 3d Marine Raider Battalion during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon
Islands area on 9 November 1943. While his platoon was engaged in the defense of a vital
road block near Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville Island. Pfc. Gurke, in company with
another Marine, was delivering a fierce stream of fire against the main vanguard of the
Japanese. Concluding from the increasing ferocity of grenade barrages that the enemy was
determined to annihilate their small, 2-man foxhole, he resorted to a bold and desperate
measure for holding out despite the torrential hail of shells. When a Japanese grenade
dropped squarely into the foxhole, Pfc. Gurke, mindful that his companion manned an
automatic weapon of superior fire power and therefore could provide more effective
resistance, thrust him roughly aside and flung his own body over the missile to smother
the explosion. With unswerving devotion to duty and superb valor, Pfc. Gurke sacrificed
himself in order that his comrade might live to carry on the fight. He gallantly gave his
life in the service of his country.
