Thomas W. Fowler

He cleared mines and rescued wounded troops under tank fire.

Thomas Weldon Fowler graduated from Texas A&M in February 1943 with a degree in animal husbandry. After officer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he received his Armor commission that May. He married Ann Oakes on May 12; their son, Thomas Jr., was born the following February. Fowler went to North Africa in October 1943 and joined his tank battalion in Italy in February 1944.

Fowler was a second lieutenant in the 191st Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division. Near Carano, Italy, on May 23, 1944, he reorganized stalled infantry, cleared a route through a minefield by hand and guided soldiers and tanks forward. During an enemy armored counterattack, he remained beside a burning tank trying to save its crew, then treated wounded infantrymen under fire.

Fowler survived that action but was killed by a sniper in Italy on June 3, 1944. Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, on October 31, 1921, he was buried at Crestview Memorial Park in his hometown. His Medal of Honor was presented posthumously to his widow and infant son at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on November 11, 1944. Initially buried in Italy, his remains returned home in 1948. His original Medal of Honor is preserved at Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets Center.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 May 1944, in the vicinity of Carano, Italy. In the midst of a full-scale armored-infantry attack, 2d Lt. Fowler, while on foot, came upon two completely disorganized infantry platoons held up in their advance by an enemy minefield. Although a tank officer, he immediately reorganized the infantry. He then made a personal reconnaissance through the minefield, clearing a path as he went, by lifting the antipersonnel mines out of the ground with his hands. After he had gone through the 75-yard belt of deadly explosives, he returned to the infantry and led them through the minefield, a squad at a time. As they deployed, 2d Lt. Fowler, despite small-arms fire and the constant danger of antipersonnel mines, made a reconnaissance into enemy territory in search of a route to continue the advance. He then returned through the minefield and, on foot, he led the tanks through the mines into a position from which they could best support the infantry. Acting as scout 300 yards in front of the infantry, he led the two platoons forward until he had gained his objective, where he came upon several dug-in enemy infantrymen. Having taken them by surprise, 2d Lt. Fowler dragged them out of their foxholes and sent them to the rear; twice, when they resisted, he threw hand grenades into their dugouts. Realizing that a dangerous gap existed between his company and the unit on his right, 2d Lt. Fowler decided to continue his advance until the gap was filled. He reconnoitered to his front, brought the infantry into position where they dug in, and, under heavy mortar and small-arms fire, brought his tanks forward. A few minutes later, the enemy began an armored counterattack. Several Mark VI tanks fired their cannons directly on 2d Lt. Fowler's position. One of his tanks was set afire. With utter disregard for his own life, with shells bursting near him, he ran directly into the enemy tank fire to reach the burning vehicle. For a half-hour, under intense strafing from the advancing tanks, although all other elements had withdrawn, he remained in his forward position, attempting to save the lives of the wounded tank crew. Only when the enemy tanks had almost overrun him, did he withdraw a short distance where he personally rendered first aid to nine wounded infantrymen in the midst of the relentless incoming fire. Second Lt. Fowler's courage, his ability to estimate the situation and to recognize his full responsibility as an officer in the Army of the United States, exemplify the high traditions of the military service for which he later gave his life.