William Ralph Shockley

On Villa Verde Trail, he stayed so his squad could get away.

William Ralph Shockley was born on 4 December 1918 in Bokoshe, Oklahoma, and entered the U.S. Army from Selma, California. As a private first class in Company L, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, he served in the Pacific War.

Shockley fought at Saidor, Aitape and Leyte. During the New Guinea fighting at Saidor, he earned the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge. By March 1945, his regiment was fighting along the Villa Verde Trail in Luzon's Caraballo Mountains.

On 31 March, Japanese artillery and infantry struck his position. Shockley cleared two stoppages in his weapon and held off an initial charge. As enemy troops moved around his flank and threatened his squad's escape route, he told his fellow soldiers to withdraw and remained behind to cover them. He kept firing until he was killed in the ensuing assault. His stand allowed the squad to reorganize and continue its attack.

For his courage and sacrifice, Shockley received the Medal of Honor posthumously under War Department General Orders No. 89, dated 19 October 1945. He is buried at Floral Memorial Park in Selma, California.

Medal of Honor citation

He was in position with his unit on a hill when the enemy, after a concentration of artillery fire, launched a counterattack. He maintained his position under intense enemy fire and urged his comrades to withdraw, saying that he would "remain to the end" to provide cover. Although he had to clear two stoppages which impeded the reloading of his weapon, he halted one enemy charge. Hostile troops then began moving in on his left flank, and he quickly shifted his gun to fire on them. Knowing that the only route of escape was being cut off by the enemy, he ordered the remainder of his squad to withdraw to safety and deliberately remained at his post. He continued to fire until he was killed during the ensuing enemy charge. Later, four Japanese were found dead in front of his position. Pfc. Shockley, facing certain death, sacrificed himself to save his fellow soldiers, but the heroism and gallantry displayed by him enabled his squad to reorganize and continue its attack.