President Clinton marks the death of Medal of Honor winner James L. Day
WASHINGTON-President Clinton expressed sadness Monday November 2, 1998 at the death of Marine Corps Gen. James L. Day, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony last January.
"We will miss this true hero, whose selfless conduct as a Marine and citizen set a shining example for all Americans,'' Clinton said in a written statement. "We are grateful for all he did to preserve the freedom that is our most sacred gift.''
Day, who was 73, died October 28, 1998 of a heart attack.
Clinton presented Day with the Medal of Honor last Jan. 20, more than a half-century after he was recommended for the honor for his role in the World War II battle for Sugar Loaf Hill on the Japanese island of Okinawa in May 1945.
The paperwork for his medal was lost in the chaos of the battlefield, but resurfaced in 1980 when a retired Marine found faded carbon copies of the recommendation among his World War II memorabilia. It took 18 more years for the paperwork to reach the appropriate officials.
The 19-year-old Day fought virtually alone from his foxhole and yielded no ground despite his own shrapnel wounds and white phosphorous burns. After two days and two nights of fighting, the enemy dead around his foxhole numbered more than 100.
