Bryant H. Womack

A dying medic put the survival of wounded comrades above all

Bryant Homer Womack grew up in the Mill Spring area of North Carolina. After high school he entered the United States Army and trained as a medical aidman. In Korea he served with the 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.

On 12 March 1952, near Sokso-ri, his patrol met a much larger enemy force. As its only attached medic, Womack moved through heavy fire to reach wounded soldiers. Although seriously injured himself, he refused evacuation and continued treating others. A mortar explosion then tore away his right arm. Unable to perform treatment personally, he directed his comrades in first aid and insisted that other casualties be moved before him.

Only after the wounded had been taken out did Womack attempt to withdraw. He collapsed from loss of blood and died while his comrades carried him to safety. He was twenty years old. His posthumous Medal of Honor was authorized in 1953. Womack Army Medical Center was dedicated in his honour in 1958, preserving the name of a medic whose final service was to put his patients first.