Forums

hi! every one boy what a great site to be part of i missed the last reuion and sorry to hear about the passing of a fellow member and vet. my dad was in the 148th combat eng. c o. c 1943-1945 he drove a jeep for a capt. he was awarded the soldier's medal for what i don't know i think he landed on omaha beach the 6th or 7th under gen hodges thanks for any help.

billw 412-683-6287 pittsburgh pa.

billw,

Welcome to one of the best WW2 sites on the internet. I am a WW2 researcher and would like to know about your service. Can you fill us in with a few details?

Colin.

Also welcome to these forums from me! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do and I look forward to hear about your wartime career too.

STevin

Welcome Bill. Sorry it took me longer than usual to answer, but I was down in Kentucky on a houseboat for several days and just got home today. So here I am, better late than never.

Would like to hear more about you too. Please fill us in and thanks for taking the time to join. We have a great group of people here including several vets who actively participate.

Hi Billw,

And welcome.

A Soldier's Medal for Heroism was awarded for heroism not involving actual conflict with an armed enemy of the US. The Award requires personal hazard or danger and voluntary risk of life.

Since he was a jeep jockey, maybe he pulled someone out of a burning wreck.

Steve

Just a bit more info to add to yours Steve.

a. The Soldier's Medal, section 3750, title 10, United States Code (10 USC 3750) was established by Act of Congress 2 July 1926.

b. The Soldier's Medal is awarded to any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. The same degree of heroism is required as for the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life under conditions not involving conflict with an armed enemy. Awards will not be made solely on the basis of having saved a life.

Photo of 1st Sgt. Cecil C. Walker Company K, 338th Regiment, 85th Custer Division is presented the Soldier's Medal in Italy.

According to what he told his family, Sgt Walker received the medal for risking his life to save the lives of some of his buddies. Their jeep turned over into a canal in Italy when a crate of grenades went off. Walker was thrown out, head first into the ditch bank, but the rest were pinned under the vehicle. Sgt. Walker saved his buddies from drowning.

Of course there could have been more to it than that and he just didn't want to brag about it.

Go to Sgt Walker for his complete biography.

Steve

I will be sure to read about it. Good info and photo. Makes it a lot easier to understand if you have a real-life story to accompany it.