The Medal of Honor Recipient Who Took on 5 Tanks in the Philippines – and Won

In December 1944, Pfc. Dirk Vlug was manning a critical roadblock on a strategically important road in the Philippines when the Japanese launched a (relatively) massive assault against his position. While this might have caused some to consider retreating, he instead stepped out of the safety of his cover and into a hail of machine-gun fire. He would receive the Medal of Honor for what he did next.

Pfc. Vlug was with the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Like many patriotic Americans, he joined as war in Europe and Asia loomed large over the country, enlisting from his home state of Michigan in April 1941. The 126th Infantry Regiment initially trained in preparation for fighting in Europe, but was famously turned around while headed to the East Coast and sent to the Pacific Theater instead.

The 126th Infantry Regiment was probably one of the best-trained units in the Pacific. Before the war, it participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, the Army's largest-ever combat training exercise, with more than 100,000 participants. The regiment was also battle-tested, fighting against strong Japanese defenses on New Guinea in 1943 while also struggling against hunger and disease.

In the Philippines, the 126th was fighting to liberate the country from Japanese control on the island of Leyte. The roadblock Vlug was defending was on the Ormoc Road, a critical supply line for Japanese defenders on Leyte. Enemy-held Ormoc Bay had been under siege for more than a month, and control of the road meant preventing supplies from leaving the bay and Japanese reinforcements from arriving.

On Dec. 7, 1944, American troops from the 77th Infantry Division made an amphibious landing just 3.5 miles from Ormoc City. Eight days later, on Dec. 15, Vlug was manning a roadblock along the main road into the city when five Japanese tanks attacked his position with machine guns and 37 mm heavy guns. Preventing those Japanese tanks from getting to the battle raging at Ormoc Bay was crucial, so Vlug took matters into his own hands. Specifically, he picked up a rocket launcher.

As bullets whizzed by, he singlehandedly loaded the launcher and destroyed the first tank with one round, killing everyone inside. It caused the crew of the second tank to dismount and assault him, but after he shot one of them with his sidearm, the rest of the crew ran back to their tank. Once they were inside, Vlug destroyed it with another shot. Three more tanks tried to move along the road, but as they lumbered ahead, Vlug simply flanked them and took out one more with a single shot.

The remaining tanks concentrated their fire on Vlug in a desperate attempt to survive their encounter with him, but the private just moved in closer to get a better shot. After destroying that fourth tank, he hit the last Japanese tank so hard, it fell into the embankment next to the road. The entire encounter was over in just 30 minutes.

"Through his sustained heroism in the face of superior forces, Private First Class Vlug alone destroyed five enemy tanks and greatly facilitated successful accomplishment of his battalion's mission," according to his Medal of Honor citation.

Vlug survived World War II and was discharged on June 14, 1945, returning to his hometown in Michigan and joining the Michigan National Guard. In 1946, he was notified that he would receive the Medal of Honor for his heroic stand against five Japanese tanks in the Philippines. It was presented to him by President Harry S. Truman on June 7, 1946, at the White House.

Vlug retired from the Michigan National Guard in 1951 at the rank of master sergeant. He died in 1996 at age 79.

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