PropertyValue
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • William Thompson (Medal of Honor, 1950)
rdfs:comment
  • William Henry Thompson (16 August 1927 – 6 August 1950) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Korean War. Born to a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood in New York City, Thompson entered the Army in 1945 and served tours in Alaska and Japan. At the outbreak of the Korean War, Thompson was a machine gunner of the U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment, a de facto segregated unit.
owl:sameAs
Unit
  • 24
dcterms:subject
dbkwik:military/property/wikiPageUsesTemplate
Number
  • 0
serviceyears
  • 1945
Birth Date
  • 1927-08-16
Branch
death place
Name
  • William Henry Thompson
Type
  • award-star
  • award-V
Caption
  • William Thompson
Width
  • 106
Ribbon
  • Medal of Honor ribbon.svg
  • National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg
  • Purple Heart BAR.svg
  • KSMRib.svg
  • Korean War Service Medal ribbon.png
  • Presidential Unit Citation .svg
  • United Nations Service Medal for Korea Ribbon.svg
placeofburial label
  • Place of burial
Birth Place
  • New York City, New York
Awards
  • *
death date
  • 1950-08-06
Rank
Allegiance
  • United States of America
Battles
Alt
  • A blue ribbon with a gold outline.
  • A purple ribbon with white stripes on each end.
  • A light blue military ribbon with five white stars with five points each.
servicenumber
  • 42259324
placeofburial
  • Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York
abstract
  • William Henry Thompson (16 August 1927 – 6 August 1950) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Korean War. Born to a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood in New York City, Thompson entered the Army in 1945 and served tours in Alaska and Japan. At the outbreak of the Korean War, Thompson was a machine gunner of the U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment, a de facto segregated unit. During the Battle of Masan in August 1950, Thompson was part of a unit conducting an offensive along the Pusan Perimeter. When North Korean troops attacked his company and caused many men to panic and scatter, Thompson stood his ground, refusing orders to evacuate despite being wounded, and covering the retreat of his platoon until he was killed by a grenade. For his actions, Thompson was awarded the Medal of Honor, one of only two African Americans to be so honored in the war.