John V. Power

In 1947, a statue of John V. Power was dedicated in the Worcester City Hall and Common.

Power sailed with his unit in mid-January 1944 from San Diego harbor, and on February 1, 1944, the 24th Marines participated in the assault at Roi-Namur in the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. Roi was captured in short order and the surviving Japanese fled to nearby Namur. It was during the battle of Namur Island that Power was killed in action when he charged a Japanese pillbox despite a severe stomach wound.

The Medal of Honor was presented to his parents by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in November 1944.

In January 1943, Power joined Company E, 3rd Separate Battalion, and deployed with that unit in March to Camp Pendleton, California. The designation of his unit was changed to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, and the unit subsequently joined the newly formed 4th Marine Division. He was promoted to first lieutenant on August 31, 1943.

Power enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on July 7, 1942, and was soon assigned to Officer Candidates School. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Reserve on October 31, 1942, and entered the 14th Reserve Officers Class at Quantico, Virginia, for a two-month course of instruction.

John Vincent Power (November 20, 1918 – February 1, 1944) was a United States Marine Corps first lieutenant who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kwajalein in World War II.

Power was born on November 20, 1918, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He grew up in that city, living near the Cathedral of Saint Paul, and in 1937 graduated from Classical High School. He next attended the College of the Holy Cross, where he participated in tennis, basketball, football, and golf before his graduation in 1941.