Omer Thomas Willette
Master Sergeant, U.S. Army

In a period of twelve years, Willette had fought in the Middle East with the British Eighth Army, smuggled arms to the French Underground, taken part in the invasion of Normandy and Holland, and served two tours of duty with the U.S. 25th Infantry Division, in Korea.

In October 1952, Master Sergeant Omer Thomas Willette was serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in Korea.

On 14 October, MSG Willette's Company A was engaged with an enemy force numbering about 200 men in North Korea and under intense fire when his platoon leader was wounded and separated from the 15-man patrol. MSG Willette single-handedly rushed to give aid to his platoon leader and was killed by enemy fire. This extraordinary heroism and selfless action earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Patrol members saw MSG Willette cut down by bullets from a burp gun (they estimated that six bullets had punctured his chest), and they went to him and felt for a pulse, but found no sign of life. A later attempt to retrieve his body was unsuccessful; Willette had vanished. His remains have never been recovered.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Combat Infantryman Badge with Star (Second Award)
Parachutist Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Synopsis

The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Master Sergeant Omer Thomas Willette (ASN: ER-31503185), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action on 14 October 1952. On that night, in North Korea, Master Sergeant Willette's unit was under intense fire and his platoon leader was wounded and separated from the unit. Master Sergeant Willette single-handedly rushed to give aid to his platoon leader and was killed by enemy fire.

Memorialization

The remains of Master Sergeant Omer Thomas Willette have never been recovered. He is memorialized with his name inscribed on Court 8 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, HI.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=118357470