For the ship U.S. Army Lt. Walter J. Will (FS-244), see MV Dennis Winn.
Walter J. Will (1922 – 30 March 1945) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.[1]
First Lieutenant Will's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
He displayed conspicuous gallantry during an attack on powerful enemy positions. He courageously exposed himself to withering hostile fire to rescue 2 wounded men and then, although painfully wounded himself, made a third trip to carry another soldier to safety from an open area. Ignoring the profuse bleeding of his wound, he gallantly led men of his platoon forward until they were pinned down by murderous flanking fire from 2 enemy machine guns. He fearlessly crawled alone to within 30 feet of the first enemy position, killed the crew of 4 and silenced the gun with accurate grenade fire. He continued to crawl through intense enemy fire to within 20 feet of the second position where he leaped to his feet, made a lone, ferocious charge and captured the gun and its 9-man crew. Observing another platoon pinned down by 2 more German machine guns, he led a squad on a flanking approach and, rising to his knees in the face of direct fire, coolly and deliberately lobbed 3 grenades at the Germans, silencing 1 gun and killing its crew. With tenacious aggressiveness, he ran toward the other gun and knocked it out with grenade fire. He then returned to his platoon and led it in a fierce, inspired charge, forcing the enemy to fall back in confusion. 1st Lt. Will was mortally wounded in this last action, but his heroic leadership, indomitable courage, and unflinching devotion to duty live on as a perpetual inspiration to all those who witnessed his deeds.
"Walter J. Will". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
April 13, 2024
walter, will, ship, army, dennis, winn, 1922, march, 1945, united, states, army, officer, recipient, united, states, military, highest, decoration, medal, honor, actions, world, born1922pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usdied, 1945, march, 1945eisern, germanyplace, b. For the ship U S Army Lt Walter J Will FS 244 see MV Dennis Winn Walter J Will 1922 30 March 1945 was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military s highest decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II 1 Walter J WillBorn1922Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USDied 1945 03 30 March 30 1945Eisern GermanyPlace of burialNetherlands American Cemetery and Memorial Margraten the NetherlandsAllegianceUnited StatesService wbr branchUnited States ArmyYears of service1940 1945RankFirst LieutenantUnit18th Infantry Regiment 1st Infantry DivisionBattles warsWorld War IIAwardsMedal of HonorWill joined the Army from West Winfield New York in December 1940 1 and by 30 March 1945 was serving as a first lieutenant in Company K 18th Infantry Regiment 1st Infantry Division During a firefight on that day near Eisern Germany he rescued three wounded men single handedly disabled two German machine gun nests and led his squad in the capture of two others all despite his injuries Mortally wounded while leading a charge on the enemy Will was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously seven months later on 17 October 1945 He is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten South Limburg the Netherlands Contents 1 Medal of Honor citation 2 Commemoration 3 See also 4 ReferencesMedal of Honor citation editFirst Lieutenant Will s official Medal of Honor citation reads He displayed conspicuous gallantry during an attack on powerful enemy positions He courageously exposed himself to withering hostile fire to rescue 2 wounded men and then although painfully wounded himself made a third trip to carry another soldier to safety from an open area Ignoring the profuse bleeding of his wound he gallantly led men of his platoon forward until they were pinned down by murderous flanking fire from 2 enemy machine guns He fearlessly crawled alone to within 30 feet of the first enemy position killed the crew of 4 and silenced the gun with accurate grenade fire He continued to crawl through intense enemy fire to within 20 feet of the second position where he leaped to his feet made a lone ferocious charge and captured the gun and its 9 man crew Observing another platoon pinned down by 2 more German machine guns he led a squad on a flanking approach and rising to his knees in the face of direct fire coolly and deliberately lobbed 3 grenades at the Germans silencing 1 gun and killing its crew With tenacious aggressiveness he ran toward the other gun and knocked it out with grenade fire He then returned to his platoon and led it in a fierce inspired charge forcing the enemy to fall back in confusion 1st Lt Will was mortally wounded in this last action but his heroic leadership indomitable courage and unflinching devotion to duty live on as a perpetual inspiration to all those who witnessed his deeds Commemoration editIn April 1944 the U S Army took delivery of the freight and supply ship U S Army Lt Walter J Will FS 244 which was named for Will 2 3 In November 1948 the Army transferred her to the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior s Fish and Wildlife Service in which she served as MV Dennis Winn 2 See also edit nbsp Biography portalList of Medal of Honor recipients List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War IIReferences edit a b WWII Army Enlistment Records a b AFSC Historical Corner Dennis Winn Auxiliary Pribilof Tender in the 1950s Retrieved September 10 2018 shipbuildinghistory com Northwestern Shipbuilding South Bellingham WA Retrieved September 10 2018 Medal of Honor recipients World War II T Z Medal of Honor citations United States Army Center of Military History June 8 2009 Retrieved 2007 10 09 Walter J Will Hall of Valor Military Times Retrieved August 28 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter J Will amp oldid 1207236825, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
