Fort Worth, Tarrant County
George Herman O’Brien, Jr. was born on Sept. 10, 1926, to local grocer George Herman and Della (Cartwright) O’Brien of Fort Worth, the eldest of two sons. The family later moved to Big Spring where he graduated from high school in 1944. After serving as a seaman in the United States Merchant Marine aboard a gasoline tanker from Dec. 1944 to May 1946, he entered Texas Technological College (later Texas Tech University) and graduated in May 1950 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. O’Brien enlisted in the Marine Corps reserve in 1949 and was mobilized to active duty in 1951 after war broke out on the Korean Peninsula in June 1950. Following completion of the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate and basic courses in Virginia, O’Brien embarked for Korea in Sept. 1952 with the First Marine Division (reinforced). By Oct. 27, 1952, the division had been overrun by numerically superior Chinese Communist forces on a vital hill position, known as the Hook, near the 38th parallel. Ordered to retake the salient, the marines and Second Lieutenant O’Brien’s Company H, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, counterattacked and soon experienced intense incoming artillery and mortar fire. O’Brien, as Rifle Platoon Commander, leaped forward and spearheaded the assault. For nearly four hours, despite multiple wounds, he continued to lead the attack, much of it hand to hand, as they entered the Chinese entrenchments. As the battle ended, O’Brien set up a defensive position and tended to the wounds of his men. The Hook was retaken and the approaches to Seoul ultimately protected due to O’Brien’s initiative, courage and leadership. For these selfless actions, he was awarded the medal of honor. After the Korean War, O’Brien returned to his family in Texas and worked as a petroleum geologist. He died in Midland on March 11, 2005, and was laid to rest in the Texas State Cemetery.