Toward the end of the war, Dad was working in the Bremerton Navy Yard. Family lore is that as an infant, I was cradled in your friend’s arms.
As was I. I still have a pair of goggles he gave me when I was a kid. We also both happen to be alums of the UofW, which gave America six Medal of Honor recipients.
Correction: seven.
Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, Col., USMC (1934)
The Marines’ WWII ace, Boyington downed 28 enemy planes before being captured by the Japanese and spending the rest of the conflict in a prisoner of war camp. His squadron’s exploits became the basis for the 1970s TV series, Baa Baa Black Sheep.
Deming Bronson, 1LT, USA (1915)
This UW graduate won a Medal of Honor in World War I for capturing enemy prisoners near Eclisfontaine, France, in 1918. He was wounded by a hand grenade and a bullet and still led his unit to capture enemy positions. At the UW, he was a forestry major and played Husky football from 1912-1916 under legendary Coach Gil Dobie.
Robert E. Galer, BGen, USMC (1935)
As a Marine Corps major in August and September of 1942, he repeatedly engaged Japanese aerial forces in combat, “individually shooting down 11 enemy bomber and fighter aircraft over a period of 29 days,” according to the text of his medal citation. Galer was himself shot down four times during his service in World War II and Korea. He retired as a brigadier general in 1957.
John D. “Bud” Hawk, Sgt., USA (1952)
Army Sgt. Hawk was wounded on August 20, 1944, in France when the German army was trying to escape its encirclement following the Normandy invasion. A portion of his medal citation reads, “Sgt. Hawk’s fearless initiative and heroic conduct, even while suffering from a painful wound, was in large measure responsible for crushing two desperate attempts of the enemy to escape from the Falaise Pocket and for taking more than 500 prisoners.”
Robert Leisy, 2LT, USA (1968)
He served as a 2nd Lt. in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. During an engagement in Phuoc Long Province, Leisy’s unit was ambushed by a far larger force of North Vietnamese soldiers. He shielded his men from a rocket grenade attack and died of the wounds on Dec. 2, 1969. He was 24.
William K. Nakamura, PFC, USA (attended, 1940s)
Forced to leave the UW because of the internment of Japanese Americans in 1942, William Kenzo Nakamura enlisted in the famous 442nd Regiment Combat Team, the most decorated military unit in U.S. history. He died in Italy on the Fourth of July, 1944, while providing cover for his pinned-down platoon. He attended the UW in the early 1940s.
Archie Van Winkle, Col., USMC (1961)
Van Winkle was awarded the Medal of Honor for action in Korea. On November 2, 1950, Van Winkle led a daring charge through withering enemy fire during which a bullet shattered his arm and an enemy hand grenade exploded against his chest. Though severely wounded, he refused to be evacuated, and continued to shout orders and encouragement to his men while lying on the ground weak from loss of blood. His heroic leadership enabled the outnumbered platoon to repulse a fanatical enemy attack.