John MacDonald Fradd

WORLD WAR II

Private First Class John MacDonald Fradd

U.S. Army

August 11, 1926 – June 27, 1945

Citations: Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medals, Medal of Liberty

PFC John MacDonald Fradd enlisted on September 29, 1944 as a combat medic and joined the 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, which played a major role in the battle for Mindanao, a location that posed an inhospitable geography, dense jungle, heavy rains, and strong enemy defenses. 

On March 10, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur ordered the clearance of Mindanao with the start of Operation Victor, with PFC Fradd’s unit as principal combat unit. It was in this extended and challenging advance that PFC Fradd left his foxhole to risk his life and rescue three men wounded in an artillery barrage and administer first aid. He was then killed in this battle on June 27, 1945. As a result of his heroism, PFC Fradd was posthumously awarded his second Bronze Star medal.

His heroism was publicly celebrated in Lincoln. His remains are interred in the Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.