Lloyd George McCarter

Holding an exposed position against repeated enemy assaults.

Lloyd George McCarter was born on May 11, 1917, in St. Maries, Idaho. Before joining the 503d Parachute Infantry Regiment he worked as a lumberjack. He had previously attained sergeant but accepted reduction to private to enter parachute training. He arrived as a replacement in May 1944 and became a scout in Company F. His platoon commander, William T. Calhoun, recalled his skill in moving through the jungle and finding enemy positions.

From February 16 to 19, 1945, during the recapture of Corregidor in the Philippines, Private McCarter silenced a machine gun with hand grenades and fought enemy snipers. He later took an exposed position to stop troops attempting to bypass his company. Through repeated nighttime attacks he encouraged wounded comrades, replenished ammunition and changed weapons as they became unusable. Seriously wounded at dawn, he delayed evacuation until he had identified targets for the next attack.

President Harry S. Truman presented his Medal of Honor at the White House on August 23, 1945. His wounds required hospitalization in the United States and led to his discharge in 1945. He married after the war, but later lost his wife to cancer. He died on February 2, 1956, aged 38, and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries.

Medal of Honor citation

He was a scout with the regiment which seized the fortress of Corregidor, Philippine Islands. Shortly after the initial parachute assault on 16 February 1945, he crossed 30 yards of open ground under intense enemy fire, and at point-blank range silenced a machine gun with hand grenades. On the afternoon of 18 February he killed six snipers. That evening, when a large force attempted to bypass his company, he voluntarily moved to an exposed area and opened fire. The enemy attacked his position repeatedly throughout the night and was each time repulsed. By two o'clock in the morning, all the men about him had been wounded; but shouting encouragement to his comrades and defiance at the enemy, he continued to bear the brunt of the attack, fearlessly exposing himself to locate enemy soldiers and then pouring heavy fire on them. He repeatedly crawled back to the American line to secure more ammunition. When his submachine gun would no longer operate, he seized an automatic rifle and continued to inflict heavy casualties. This weapon, in turn, became too hot to use and, discarding it, he continued with an M1 rifle. At dawn the enemy attacked with renewed intensity. Completely exposing himself to hostile fire, he stood erect to locate the most dangerous enemy positions. He was seriously wounded; but, though he had already killed more than 30 of the enemy, he refused to evacuate until he had pointed out immediate objectives for attack. Through his sustained and outstanding heroism in the face of grave and obvious danger, Pvt. McCarter made outstanding contributions to the success of his company and the recapture of Corregidor.