On November 29, 1950, during the brutal fighting at the Chosin Reservoir, Lieutenant Colonel John Page was sent from X Corps Headquarters to help manage traffic along the main supply route. He had every reason to return to safety.

He chose not to.

Instead, he remained with surrounded Marines and soldiers, organizing stragglers into a fighting reserve and repeatedly exposing himself to direct enemy fire. He manned machine guns atop tanks, defended a makeshift airstrip under constant attack, and even flew low over enemy positions in a light aircraft, dropping grenades and firing his carbine into Chinese forces below.

After briefly returning to headquarters to coordinate artillery support, he refused to stay behind and went back into the fight.

On December 10, when a Marine convoy was ambushed in a narrow mountain pass, LTC Page moved forward under withering fire to break the roadblock. Fighting his way to the head of the column, he assaulted an enemy strongpoint, killing twelve enemy soldiers at close range before being mortally wounded.

In Korea less than two weeks, Lieutenant Colonel John Page repeatedly chose danger over safety—helping ensure others would survive the breakout from Chosin.

For his extraordinary heroism, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

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