Mitchell Paige(Mihajlo Pejić) (August 31, 1918 – November 15, 2003) was an American-Serbian retired United States Marine Corps colonel who received the nation's highest military decoration for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor, during World War II. On October 26, 1942, after thirty-three Marines in his machine gun platoon were killed or wounded defending a ridge during the Battle of Guadalcanal, Platoon Sergeant Paige operated four machine guns, singlehandedly stopping an entire Japanese regiment. He also led a bayonet charge afterwards. Early life Paige was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. His parents were ethnic Serbs, immigrants from the Herzegovina, originally surnamed Pejić. His mother kept him and his brother in touch with their roots, reminding them of the Battle of Kosovo, but also told them to be proud Americans. His family later moved to the Camden Hills neighborhood of West Mifflin. He graduated from McKeesport High School before enlisting in the US Marine Corps. Military service Paige enlisted in the Marine Corps on September 1, 1936, at Baltimore, Maryland, and completed his boot camp training at Parris Island, South Carolina. In November 1936, he was transferred to Quantico, Virginia, and later served as a gunner aboard the . While aboard the Wyoming, he took part in maneuvers via Panama to San Clemente Island off the coast of California. In February 1937, he was transferred to Mare Island Navy Yard for guard duty, and two months later was ordered to Cavite in the Philippine Islands. While on Cavite, he became a member of the All-Navy-Marine baseball team, which gained prominence throughout the islands and the Orient. He served in China from October 1938 to September 1939 and during his tour he guarded American property during the famous Tientsin flood. He left North China and returned to the U.S. in April 1940 for guard duty at the Brooklyn and Philadelphia Navy Yards. In September, he rejoined the 5th Marines, at Quantico, and the following month participated in maneuvers at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Culebra, Puerto Rico. In March 1941, Paige was transferred back to the United States and ordered to New River, North Carolina, to help construct and prepare a new Marine Corps training base, which later became Camp Lejeune. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December, he was sent again overseas with the 7th Marines and landed at Apia, British Samoa. From Samoa, the 7th Marines landed on Guadalcanal