Bryant H. Womack Explained

Bryant Homer Womack
Birth Date:12 May 1931
Birth Place:Mill Spring, North Carolina, U.S.
Death Place:near Sokso-ri, Korea
Placeofburial:Lebanon Methodist Church
Polk County, North Carolina, U.S.
Allegiance:United States of America
Branch:United States Army
Serviceyears:1950–1952
Rank:Private First Class
Unit:Medical Company, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
Awards:Medal of Honor
Purple Heart

Bryant Homer Womack[1] (May 12, 1931March 12, 1952) was a United States Army soldier during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on March 12, 1952. Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Liberty, North Carolina, is named for him.

Early life and education

Womack was born and raised in Mill Spring, in Polk County, North Carolina. He was the son of George and Julie Womack and had three brothers and one sister. He grew up working as a farm laborer and picked peaches during the summer. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and riding bicycles.[2]

Career

Womack was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950[2] [3] and sent to Korea as a private first class with the Medical Company of the 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.[1] During a firefight on March 12, 1952, near Soksa-ri, his unit began taking heavy casualties. Womack exposed himself to enemy fire in order to treat wounded soldiers. When he was himself wounded, he refused medical treatment and continued to give aid to others. He was the last soldier to withdraw from the engagement and died of his injuries soon after. He was officially issued the Medal of Honor the next year, on January 12, 1953.[1]

Aged 20 at his death, Womack was buried at Lebanon Methodist Church in his hometown of Mill Spring.[2]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Company, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division

Place and date: Near Sokso-ri, Korea, March 12, 1952

Entered service at: Mill Springs, N.C. Birth: Mill Springs, North Carolina

G.O. No.: 5, January 12, 1953

Citation:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: January 6, 2010 . Medal of Honor recipients . . August 3, 2009 . March 10, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090310142628/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/koreanwar.html . dead . incorrectly records his middle initial as "E".
  2. Web site: Schulman . Mark . Soldier's heroism remembered . . February 22, 2009 . 2009-03-02 . 2011-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095401/http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090222/TOPSTORIES/902210934/1042?Title=Soldier-s-heroism-remembered . dead .
  3. http://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=5874 Service Profile