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William Wylie Galt

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William Wylie Galt Famous memorial Veteran

Birth
Geyser, Judith Basin County, Montana, USA
Death
29 May 1944 (aged 24)
Italy
Burial
Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, USA GPS-Latitude: 47.4804153, Longitude: -111.2611008
Plot
Section 8, Lot 126, Grave 3
Memorial ID
View Source
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was killed in action. He served as a Captain in the United States Army in the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on May 29, 1944 at Villa Crocetta, Italy. His citation in part reads "When the lone remaining tank destroyer refused to go forward, Capt. Galt jumped on the tank destroyer and ordered it to precede the attack. As the tank destroyer moved forward, followed by a company of riflemen, Capt. Galt manned the .30-caliber machine gun in the turret of the tank destroyer, located and directed fire on an enemy 77-mm antitank gun, and destroyed it. Nearing the enemy positions, Capt. Galt stood fully exposed in the
turret, ceaselessly firing his machine gun and tossing hand grenades into the enemy zigzag series of trenches despite the hail of sniper and machine-gun bullets ricocheting off the tank destroyer. As the tank destroyer moved, Capt. Galt so maneuvered it that 40 of the enemy were trapped in one trench. When they refused to surrender, Capt. Galtr pressed the trigger of the machine gun and dispatched every one of them. A few minutes later an 88-mm shell struck the tank destroyer and Capt. Galt fell mortally wounded across his machine gun. He had personally killed 40 Germans and wounded many more."
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was killed in action. He served as a Captain in the United States Army in the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on May 29, 1944 at Villa Crocetta, Italy. His citation in part reads "When the lone remaining tank destroyer refused to go forward, Capt. Galt jumped on the tank destroyer and ordered it to precede the attack. As the tank destroyer moved forward, followed by a company of riflemen, Capt. Galt manned the .30-caliber machine gun in the turret of the tank destroyer, located and directed fire on an enemy 77-mm antitank gun, and destroyed it. Nearing the enemy positions, Capt. Galt stood fully exposed in the
turret, ceaselessly firing his machine gun and tossing hand grenades into the enemy zigzag series of trenches despite the hail of sniper and machine-gun bullets ricocheting off the tank destroyer. As the tank destroyer moved, Capt. Galt so maneuvered it that 40 of the enemy were trapped in one trench. When they refused to surrender, Capt. Galtr pressed the trigger of the machine gun and dispatched every one of them. A few minutes later an 88-mm shell struck the tank destroyer and Capt. Galt fell mortally wounded across his machine gun. He had personally killed 40 Germans and wounded many more."

Bio by: Don Morfe




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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Don Morfe
  • Added: Jun 2, 2004
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8863090/william_wylie-galt: accessed ), memorial page for William Wylie Galt (19 Dec 1919–29 May 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 8863090, citing Mount Olivet Cemetery, Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.