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Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Stories of Sacrifice

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World War II - U.S. Army

Herman C Wallace

Details
  • Rank: Private First Class
  • Conflict/Era: World War II
  • Unit/Command:
    Company B, 301st Combat Engineer Battalion,
    76th Infantry Division
  • Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
  • Medal of Honor Action Date: February 27, 1945
  • Medal of Honor Action Place: near Prumzurley, Germany
Citation
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity. While helping clear enemy mines from a road, he stepped on a well-concealed S-type antipersonnel mine. Hearing the characteristic noise indicating that the mine had been activated and, if he stepped aside, would be thrown upward to explode above the ground and spray the area with fragments, surely killing two comrades directly behind him and endangering other members of his squad, he deliberately placed his other foot on the mine even though his best chance for survival was to fall prone. Pvt. Wallace was killed when the charge detonated, but his supreme heroism at the cost of his life confined the blast to the ground and his own body and saved his fellow soldiers from death or injury.
Medal of Honor Recipient Herman C. Wallace
Medal of Honor Recipient Herman C. Wallace
Additional Details
  • Accredited to: Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas
  • Awarded Posthumously: Yes
  • Born: 1924, Marlow, Stephens County, OK, United States
  • Died: February 27, 1945, Germany
  • Buried: City of Lubbock Cemetery (MH) (41-2-1) , Lubbock, TX, United States
 

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