Western Maine
30
Bridgton’s George Libby by Charles Francis
G
Medal of Honor recipient
eorge Libby of Bridgton was a moral man. The rules of conduct that George Libby adhered to were of the very highest order. George Libby placed the lives of others above his own. He did so more than once, and in doing so lost his life. George Libby lost his life in Korea as a result of wounds he received on July 20, 1950. The date is significant because it was less than a month after the North Korean Army crossed the 35th Parallel. That date was June 25, 1950, the date accepted by most scholars and historians as the beginning of the Korean Conflict. Theologians may debate the nature of moral principle. It is doubtful, however, that any would dismiss altruism, selflessness, and stewardship as being
anything but examples of the highest order of morality. George Libby exhibited each of these moral principles. Sergeant George Libby was wounded in two separate actions on July 20, 1950. The actions occurred at roadblocks. During the separate actions, Libby received a series of wounds. Sergeant Libby received the first series of wounds when he deliberately placed himself between the driver of a vehicle who was loading wounded and the enemy. He did this in order to return enemy fire. It needs to be noted that the driver of the vehicle, an artillery tractor, was the only person available to operate it. If the driver was killed it would have meant an end to any use of the vehicle — and the end to those who had been wounded.
The vehicle bearing the wounded as well as Sergeant Libby left the location of the first action only to encounter more enemy fire. Rather than receive medical care for his wounds, Sergeant Libby opted to return that fire. The series of wounds Sergeant Libby received at the second roadblock occurred in much the same circumstances as those of the first action. Libby again shielded the driver of the vehicle carrying wounded with his own person. George Libby is one of just five Maine men to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Korea. He was the first of the five. It was posthumously awarded on August 2, 1951. George Libby was a sergeant with Company C of the 3rd Engineer Combat Battalion. Prior to the commence-
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