Joseph E. Muller

Who was Joseph E. Muller?

Joseph E. Muller was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II during the Battle of Okinawa.

Muller joined the Army from New York City in March 1942 and by May 15, 1945 was serving as a Sergeant in Company B, 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division. On that day, during a battle for a ridge near Ishimmi on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands, he exposed himself to enemy fire and charged the Japanese positions alone. The next morning, when Japanese soldiers made an attempt to re-take the ridge, Muller again charged and routed them. When one of the Japanese soldiers threw a hand grenade into his foxhole, he threw himself onto the device to protect two of his comrades. He died in the resulting explosion and, on July 17, 1946, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Aged 36 at his death, Muller was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.