Hulon Brocke Whittington

Against a German Panzer column of more than 100 vehicles, one American sergeant suddenly found himself commanding a platoon whose senior leaders had disappeared in battle. What Hulon Brocke Whittington did next, under fire near Grimesnil, France, on July 29, 1944, would earn him the Medal of Honor and secure his place among the most remarkable combat leaders of World War II.

Hulon Brocke Whittington was born on July 9, 1921, in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The Army credited his entry into military service to Bastrop, Louisiana, and he enlisted in August 1940. Serving with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division, the famed "Hell on Wheels" division, Whittington took part in the Allied invasions of North Africa and Sicily before continuing into the European campaign. The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps records that he accumulated 26 months of combat service and distinguished himself repeatedly in Sicily and France.

His defining battle came during the fighting in Normandy. On the night of July 29, 1944, near Grimesnil, a powerful German armored attack overran several American outposts. Whittington, then a sergeant and squad leader, assumed command of his platoon after both the platoon leader and platoon sergeant became missing in action. Instead of remaining under cover, he crawled between exposed gun positions under enemy fire, reorganizing the defense and checking personally on his men.

When the German force attempted to break through a roadblock, Whittington took an even greater risk. He climbed onto an American tank while the battle raged around him and shouted instructions through the turret, directing its crew into a position from which it could fire at point-blank range against the leading German Mark V Panther. The Panther was destroyed, blocking the road and trapping the remainder of a Panzer column containing more than 100 vehicles. American tanks, artillery, bazookas, hand grenades, and infantry fire then struck the immobilized force. Whittington's example also helped inspire a determined bayonet charge against German troops. When his unit's medical aidman became a casualty, Whittington turned from directing the battle to personally administering first aid to wounded soldiers.

The official Medal of Honor citation praised Whittington's leadership, courage, and willingness to risk his life beyond the call of duty. His award was authorized in War Department General Orders No. 32, dated April 23, 1945. Two days earlier, on April 21, while he was a patient at Brooke General Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, Major General John P. Lucas presented him with the Medal of Honor during a hospital ceremony.

The Medal of Honor was the highest recognition of a combat record already marked by extraordinary service. Official U.S. Army Ordnance Corps records confirm that Whittington also received the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and French Croix de Guerre. His unit service was additionally associated with the Belgian Fourragère, a foreign unit distinction rather than an individual medal. A published military awards index attributes his Silver Star to Headquarters, 2nd Armored Division, General Orders No. 40 of 1943, while the Army Ordnance Corps independently confirms the award itself and his other principal wartime decorations.

Whittington's military career did not end with World War II. He was commissioned a first lieutenant of Infantry in August 1949. In November 1951 he was assigned to the Ordnance Officer Candidate School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, followed by duty at the Ordnance School beginning in April 1953. He transferred from the Infantry to the Ordnance Corps in September 1953 and was promoted to captain the following month. His later assignments included service in the Pacific, at Erie Ordnance Depot in Ohio, and in Europe. In September 1960 he attained the rank of major.

Even after years of combat and overseas service, Whittington volunteered once more for duty abroad. He went to Vietnam as a senior U.S. Army Ordnance adviser to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the formative years of the American advisory mission. While serving there he suffered a heart attack, bringing more than two decades of Army service to an unexpected close. Major Whittington retired in March 1963 and subsequently lived and worked in Toledo, Ohio.

Hulon Brocke Whittington died in Toledo on January 17, 1969, at only 47 years of age. He was laid to rest in Section 13 of Arlington National Cemetery, among the nation's honored military dead. His legacy continued after his death. He was inducted into the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame in 1969, and on May 17, 2012, the U.S. Army Ordnance School dedicated its parade field in his honor during the Ordnance Corps' 200th anniversary observances.

Whittington's Medal of Honor was earned in a matter of hours, but the life behind it was defined by more than a single night of combat. From North Africa and Sicily to Normandy, from an enlisted infantry sergeant to a commissioned Ordnance major, and finally to advisory service in Vietnam, Hulon Brocke Whittington built a military career around one consistent principle: when responsibility suddenly became his, he accepted it. His actions near Grimesnil remain an enduring example of battlefield leadership, courage under fire, and service to the soldiers beside him.