Everyone has a story. Those who came home from war may have decided to share their stories of service. Those who did not come home still have a story to share. This is the Untold Story of Lieutenant Weedon Osborne, U.S. Navy Dental Surgeon, assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce the May 2026 story of the month has been selected to honor the memory of Lieutenant Weedon Osborne, U.S. Navy Dental Surgeon, assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment. This year, the Story of the Month publication will honor and recognize the service memory of those lost by commemorating our Untold Stories of Service work with Richard Sherman, author of “Never Home: Remembering the Military Heroes Who Never Returned.” The following was researched, written, and presented to the Story of the Month publication by Richard Sherman.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Weedon Osborne was killed on June 6, 1918, on the first day of the famed offensive at Belleau Wood in France. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 13, 1892 but lost his parents as a child and was sent to the Allendale Farm: an orphanage, school and working farm for boys in Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1915 and worked on the teaching staff at Denver University before being commissioned as a Navy Officer in the Dental Corps in May 1917. Osborne arrived in France on May 14, 1918 as part of the Marine 6th Regiment. At the time, the German offensive was gaining ground and enemy troops were closing in on Paris. The Marines reached Belleau Wood on June 2nd as French troops were retreating. That is when Marine Captain Lloyd Williams, uttered the famous line, "Retreat, Hell! We just got here."
Having stopped the advance, the allies turned the tables and on June 6th launched an offensive. Osborne volunteered to go forward as part of a front line aid party. The Marines first had to cross a wheat field in open view of German machine gun nests. That is when Marine First Sergeant Dan Daly famously rallied his men by yelling, "Come on you sons of b******! Do you want to live forever!" as they charged into battle.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Osborne was extremely busy that day attending to the wounded. More than 1,000 Marines died on that first day of battle--more than the Marine Corps had lost in it’s entire history to that point. While carrying injured Marine Captain Donald Duncan to safety, a shell struck and killed both Osborne and Duncan. For his valor, Osborne was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Medal of Honor. He is 1 of 21 Navy men (along with 7 Marines) to receive the Medal of Honor in WW1. Of note, his Medal rests at the US Navy Museum in Washington DC, and features the original Tiffany Cross design that is distinct from the common star-shaped medal.
The Battle at Belleau Wood raged on for three weeks, with the forest changing hands six times. Finally, the Marines cleared Belleau Wood on June 26, cementing the Marine Corps reputation as a lethal fighting force. The U.S. Secretary of the Navy at that time, Josephus Daniel, wrote: "In all the history of the Marine Corps there is no such battle as that one in Belleau Wood. Fighting day and night without relief, without sleep, often without water, and for days without hot rations, the Marines met and defeated the best divisions that Germany could throw into the line.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Weedon Osborne was the first Navy officer killed in action on land and the only Medical Department officer to die in battle during World War One. His military decorations were given to his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Osborne Fisher, who also attended the launch of USS Osborne (DD-295), a destroyer named after her brother, on December 29, 1919. A road at the U.S. Naval Academy, as well as the Headquarters Building at the Naval Dental Center Great Lakes, Illinois, is named for this American hero. Described as having “sleight build, nervous temperament, bright, forceful, energetic and of sympathetic and lovable disposition,” Weeden Osborn was 25 years old.
Untold Story of Lieutenant Weedon Osborne
The United States Navy Memorial honors Lieutenant Weedon Osborne, featured within this Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at https://www.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service
Richard Sherman is a award winning-author, professor, Navy Gulf War Veteran, and contributor to the Untold Stories of Service Program. Richard also joined the ranks of the Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program and actively interviews Veterans which has enriched our program by conducting extraordinary interviews which are now part of the Navy Memorial Interview Archive. To further explore the work of Richard Sherman, visit: www.NeverHomeHeroes.com