Lt.Col. William "Wild Bill" Donovan, USA (MOH)
165th Infantry Regiment
42nd “Rainbow” Division,
|
|
From This Day in U.S. Military History:
15 October 1918 – Lieutenant Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan earned the Medal of Honor while leading his regiment, the 165th Infantry (formerly the 69th New York, the “Fighting 69th” of Civil War fame), 42nd “Rainbow” Division, in an attack to capture a German strongpoint. By acts of personal courage such as rallying platoons of soldiers decimated and about to break from enemy fire, he again led them forward. Though seriously wounded he refused to be evacuated and continued to command his men from a bomb crater. Eventually the Americans did have to withdraw after suffering devastating losses. Donovan started his Guard service by organizing his own cavalry troop which then commanded during its tour of duty on the Mexican border in 1916. He then joined the 69th New York just prior to the mobilization for World War I. Even before earning the Medal of Honor, in July 1918, he displayed extreme courage while leading a battalion in its attack on German positions in the Oureq River (called by the Irish of the 69th as the “O’Rourke River”) sector. For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the Army’s second highest medal for valor). In World War II Donovan organized and commanded the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of today’s CIA." |
|
|
|
|
|
