Several Black soldiers received the Soldier’s Medal for heroism in the Pacific area. Edward Williams,
private, Quartermaster Corps, Hurtsboro, Alabama, helped to extinguish a conflagration at a United States
truck assembly plant in Iran, Persia. He risked his life to the peril of intense heat to save quantities of
Government property from damage and destruction.
James Scott, private, Corps of Engineers, Montgomery, Alabama, risked his life on June 25, 1942, near an
airdrone in New Guinea to save a pilot. When a fighter plane, taking off to intercept enemy planes then
overheated, struck a log and crashed into the nearby river splashing gasoline on the plane and water, and
igniting both gasoline and ammunition. Private Scott in the midst of flames and exploding ammunition
waded into the river and assisted in rescuing the pilot.
Roscoe E. Thomas, Master Sergeant, Corps of Engineers, Atlanta, Georgia, went to the assistance of three
comrades buried under debris from an ammunition dump which had been set on fire by Japanese bombers.
James Williams, private, Infantry, Indianapolis, Indiana, saved two of his buddies from drowning when they
slipped and fell into the ocean while embarking in the Solomon Islands. He immediately dived into the water
to help them.
Columbus Howard, private first class, Corps of Engineers, Inkster, Michigan, proceeded within 200 yards of
an exploding inferno to remove hot metal fragments from inflammable materials, and fought tirelessly to
prevent the fire from spreading to other vital supply dumps.
Jesse E. Evans, private, Quartermaster Corps, Morristown, New Jersey, aided in the rescue of three sailors
from the waters adjoining a United States island base in the South Pacific. Private Evans was one of a party
of soldiers working on a ship in the harbor when he heard the cry for help and located a small home-made
boat not far away which had capsized. One of the three sailor occupants was unconscious and being held
up by another. Without regard for his own safety, Private Evans plunged 40 feet over the side of the ship,
swam to the men and helped keep the unconscious man afloat until a ship’s launch could come alongside.
Nathaniel Hocker, sergeant, Coast Artillery, Brooklyn, New York, helped to save the life of a pilot on the
island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on March 24,1944. With complete disregard for the gasoline flames and
the danger of the unexploded bombs, Sergeant Hocker assisted in removing the pilot from a burning plane
that had crashed near his gun position.
William Downing, technician fourth grade, Quartermaster Corps, Nyack, New York, plunged into the icy
waters of the Bering Sea to rescue a soldier in danger of being crushed between a barge and a freighter.
Douglas D. Hopper, private first class, Corps of Engineers, Shelby, North Carolina, braved the treacherous
currents of a river in India to rescue an officer.
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