Walter D. Ehlers, one of last surviving WWII Medal of Honor recipients, dies at 92

Fox News ^ | February 24, 2014 | Karl de Vries

[Freeport]

When Walter D. Ehlers was 23 years old, he charged through enemy fire to destroy two German machine gun nests, kill seven enemy soldiers, put a halt to a mortar barrage and carry a wounded buddy to safety – all after he had been shot in the side by a sniper.

The date: June 9, 1944.

The place: Normandy, France.

The mission: The D-Day invasions and the effort to liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi Germany.

Amid countless acts of bravery from young men like Ehlers, the Buena Park, Calif. resident's heroism stood out, and he received the Medal of Honor. He died of kidney failure Thursday at the age of 92.

His passing leaves only seven surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipients.

“Walt was the kindest, gentlest person, and you would never have known he could have done the things that he did,” his wife, Dorothy, told FoxNews.com on Monday. “He always said, ‘if it’s you or them, you make sure it’s them.’”

To Ehlers, however, the real hero in the family was his older brother Roland, who enlisted with Walter in 1940. The day before the Normandy landings, military superiors separated the two brothers to improve the odds that at least one of them would survive.

[Freeport]

Well done sir. Rest easy.

[JOHN ADAMS]

Thank God for people like him. I hope we are making more. I’ve no doubt we’ll need them.

[South40]

It is sad that this story about such a great American Hero has gotten so few responses.

I will be attending SSG Ehler's funeral at Riverside National Cemetery on March 8th. And I will be honored to do so.

Thank you for posting.