DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, and friend, this one deserves every word. George Herman O'Brien, Jr. came into the world on September 10th, 1926, in Fort Worth, Texas — the eldest son of a local grocer named George Herman O'Brien and his wife Della, née Cartwright. The family eventually made their way to Big Spring, where young George finished high school in 1944.
Now, you might think that's where the story really gets going, and you'd be right — but not quite yet. First came a stretch at sea, serving as a seaman in the United States Merchant Marine aboard a gasoline tanker. December of 1944 to May of 1946.
A gasoline tanker. The boy had nerve before he ever put on a uniform. After that, he set his sights on education.
He entered Texas Technological College — the school that would later become Texas Tech University — and in May of 1950 walked out with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. He'd also enlisted in the Marine Corps reserve the year before, in 1949. And then, in June of 1950, war broke out on the Korean Peninsula.
O'Brien was mobilized to active duty in 1951. He completed the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate and basic courses over in Virginia, and by September of 1952, Second Lieutenant George Herman O'Brien, Jr. was embarking for Korea with the First Marine Division, reinforced.
Now here's where you lean in a little closer. October 27th, 1952. The division had been overrun — overrun by numerically superior Chinese Communist forces — on a vital hill position near the 38th parallel.
The place was called the Hook. The orders came down: retake it. Company H, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines counterattacked.
And the artillery and mortar fire that came back at them was intense. The kind of intense that makes men go to ground. O'Brien did not go to ground.
As Rifle Platoon Commander, he leaped forward. He spearheaded the assault himself. For nearly four hours — four hours — despite taking multiple wounds, he kept leading.
Much of that fighting was hand to hand, inside the Chinese entrenchments. When the battle finally ended, O'Brien set up a defensive position and turned his attention to tending the wounds of his own men. The Hook was retaken.
The approaches to Seoul were ultimately protected. And the marker is plain about why: O'Brien's initiative, courage, and leadership. For those selfless actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
After Korea, George O'Brien came home to Texas and worked as a petroleum geologist. He died in Midland on March 11th, 2005, and was laid to rest in the Texas State Cemetery. A grocer's son from Fort Worth.
A seaman on a gasoline tanker. A geology graduate. A Marine who, for four hours on a hill called the Hook, simply would not stop.
That's George Herman O'Brien, Jr. — and now you know why the marker's there.
What the marker says
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.