Walter D. Ehlers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter D. Ehlers
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Ehlers speaking at a 2007 ceremony commemorating the anniversary of D-Day
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| Born | May 7, 1921 Junction City, Kansas |
| Died | February 20, 2014 (aged 92) Long Beach, California |
| Buried |
Riverside National Cemetery
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| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ |
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Silver Star Purple Heart (3) |
Walter David Ehlers (May 7, 1921 – February 20, 2014) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the US armed forces' highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.
Early life
Ehlers was born on May 7, 1921, in Junction City, Kansas.
Military service
Ehlers joined the United States Army from the city of Manhattan, Kansas, in October 1940. He and his older brother Roland served in the same unit and participated in the fighting in North Africa and Sicily.
By D-Day on June 6, 1944, Ehlers was a staff sergeant and squad leader in the 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. His squad, part of the invasion's second wave, waited off shore in a Landing Craft, Infantry, while the first group of soldiers landed. When the first wave became pinned down on the beach, his unit was transferred to a Higgins boat and sent forward early to assist. They fought their way off the beach and by June 9 were near the town of Goville, 8 miles (13 km) inland. On that day, he led his unit's attack against German forces and single-handedly defeated several enemy machine gun nests. The next day the platoon came under heavy fire. Ehlers was wounded, but managed to cover the platoon's withdrawal; this included carrying a wounded automatic rifleman to safety and running back through enemy fire to retrieve his Browning Automatic Rifle. After treatment of his wounds, Ehlers refused to be evacuated and continued to lead his squad. For his actions he was awarded the Medal of Honor five months later, on 11 December 1944. He was decorated in Paris in the office of Lieutenant General John C. H. Lee, Commanding General, Communications Zone, ETO. By this time Ehlers had received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant.
On July 14, more than a month after D-Day, Ehlers learned that his brother Roland had died at Omaha Beach when his landing craft was struck by a mortar shell.
Later life
Ehlers appeared in the 1955 film The Long Gray Line, starring Tyrone Power. He went on to work for the Veterans Administration, and as a security guard at Disneyland, California.
Ehlers died on February 20, 2014, of kidney failure in Long Beach, California. He was 92 years old. He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.
Ehlers' Medal of Honor is on display at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Personal life
Ehlers married the former Dorothy Decker, who died in 2017 at the age of 85. They had 3 children, and 11 grandchildren.
See also
In Spanish: Walter D. Ehlers para niños
