Wallace Holt was scarcely 20 years old when he sat for the picture shown above. The young man had traveled from North Dakota to join the Marines, and soon would be traveling a good deal farther with Able Company, 24th Marines. He fought on Namur and on Saipan, and by July of 1944 had been wounded once and promoted to corporal - a position of responsibility in a rifle company, and had the ranks of A Company not been terribly depleted by the three weeks of Saipan, he would have commanded a fire team. As it was, Holt was sharing a hole with BAR gunner Al Perry and fellow rifleman Leon Roquet on the night of July 25, 1944.
The Japanese on Tinian were about to test Able Company to their limit. Flares shot up into the sky, yelling and screaming could be heard in the darkness. Mortar and artillery shells began to drop on the perimeter, and the hole containing Roquet, Perry, and Holt was nearly obliterated by a massive explosion.
As the dirt settled, Holt noticed a Japanese grenade had rolled into the foxhole. Quickly scooping it up, he tried to throw it from the hole, but it went off in his hand. In shock, he turned to Perry and blurted the first thing that came to mind: "I won't be able to play baseball anymore! My hand is gone!"
Holt jumped out of the hole and ran for the company aid station just as the Japanese launched a ferocious banzai attack. His friends Perry and Roquet could scarcely spare him a thought, and months passed before they heard what had happened to Wallace Holt; Perry would long believe that Holt had been hit by a mortar round, not realizing that his friend's actions had saved his life.
Wallace Holt survived, though what remained of his hand was amputated. He was sent back to a hospital on Oahu, where he spent his convalescence teaching himself how to light matches with one hand, a feat he eventually mastered and demonstrated with pride.
Wallace Holt was awarded the Silver Star for his service.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Wallace M. Holt (MCSN: 824479), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division during operations against enemy Japanese forces on Tinian Island, Marianas Group on 25 July 1944. When a live hand grenade was thrown into a foxhole that sheltered him and a severely wounded companion, Private First Class Holt boldly picked up the missile and, attempting to throw it back at the enemy suffered serious body wounds and the loss of his hand when it exploded. By his daring initiative, selfless efforts and indomitable courage, Private First Class Holt upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
He died in 1997.
The Japanese on Tinian were about to test Able Company to their limit. Flares shot up into the sky, yelling and screaming could be heard in the darkness. Mortar and artillery shells began to drop on the perimeter, and the hole containing Roquet, Perry, and Holt was nearly obliterated by a massive explosion.
As the dirt settled, Holt noticed a Japanese grenade had rolled into the foxhole. Quickly scooping it up, he tried to throw it from the hole, but it went off in his hand. In shock, he turned to Perry and blurted the first thing that came to mind: "I won't be able to play baseball anymore! My hand is gone!"
Holt jumped out of the hole and ran for the company aid station just as the Japanese launched a ferocious banzai attack. His friends Perry and Roquet could scarcely spare him a thought, and months passed before they heard what had happened to Wallace Holt; Perry would long believe that Holt had been hit by a mortar round, not realizing that his friend's actions had saved his life.
Wallace Holt survived, though what remained of his hand was amputated. He was sent back to a hospital on Oahu, where he spent his convalescence teaching himself how to light matches with one hand, a feat he eventually mastered and demonstrated with pride.
Wallace Holt was awarded the Silver Star for his service.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Wallace M. Holt (MCSN: 824479), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division during operations against enemy Japanese forces on Tinian Island, Marianas Group on 25 July 1944. When a live hand grenade was thrown into a foxhole that sheltered him and a severely wounded companion, Private First Class Holt boldly picked up the missile and, attempting to throw it back at the enemy suffered serious body wounds and the loss of his hand when it exploded. By his daring initiative, selfless efforts and indomitable courage, Private First Class Holt upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
He died in 1997.
Wallace Holt was scarcely 20 years old when he sat for the picture shown above. The young man had traveled from North Dakota to join the Marines, and soon would be traveling a good deal farther with Able Company, 24th Marines. He fought on Namur and on Saipan, and by July of 1944 had been wounded once and promoted to corporal - a position of responsibility in a rifle company, and had the ranks of A Company not been terribly depleted by the three weeks of Saipan, he would have commanded a fire team. As it was, Holt was sharing a hole with BAR gunner Al Perry and fellow rifleman Leon Roquet on the night of July 25, 1944.
The Japanese on Tinian were about to test Able Company to their limit. Flares shot up into the sky, yelling and screaming could be heard in the darkness. Mortar and artillery shells began to drop on the perimeter, and the hole containing Roquet, Perry, and Holt was nearly obliterated by a massive explosion.
As the dirt settled, Holt noticed a Japanese grenade had rolled into the foxhole. Quickly scooping it up, he tried to throw it from the hole, but it went off in his hand. In shock, he turned to Perry and blurted the first thing that came to mind: "I won't be able to play baseball anymore! My hand is gone!"
Holt jumped out of the hole and ran for the company aid station just as the Japanese launched a ferocious banzai attack. His friends Perry and Roquet could scarcely spare him a thought, and months passed before they heard what had happened to Wallace Holt; Perry would long believe that Holt had been hit by a mortar round, not realizing that his friend's actions had saved his life.
Wallace Holt survived, though what remained of his hand was amputated. He was sent back to a hospital on Oahu, where he spent his convalescence teaching himself how to light matches with one hand, a feat he eventually mastered and demonstrated with pride.
Wallace Holt was awarded the Silver Star for his service.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Wallace M. Holt (MCSN: 824479), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division during operations against enemy Japanese forces on Tinian Island, Marianas Group on 25 July 1944. When a live hand grenade was thrown into a foxhole that sheltered him and a severely wounded companion, Private First Class Holt boldly picked up the missile and, attempting to throw it back at the enemy suffered serious body wounds and the loss of his hand when it exploded. By his daring initiative, selfless efforts and indomitable courage, Private First Class Holt upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
He died in 1997.
The Japanese on Tinian were about to test Able Company to their limit. Flares shot up into the sky, yelling and screaming could be heard in the darkness. Mortar and artillery shells began to drop on the perimeter, and the hole containing Roquet, Perry, and Holt was nearly obliterated by a massive explosion.
As the dirt settled, Holt noticed a Japanese grenade had rolled into the foxhole. Quickly scooping it up, he tried to throw it from the hole, but it went off in his hand. In shock, he turned to Perry and blurted the first thing that came to mind: "I won't be able to play baseball anymore! My hand is gone!"
Holt jumped out of the hole and ran for the company aid station just as the Japanese launched a ferocious banzai attack. His friends Perry and Roquet could scarcely spare him a thought, and months passed before they heard what had happened to Wallace Holt; Perry would long believe that Holt had been hit by a mortar round, not realizing that his friend's actions had saved his life.
Wallace Holt survived, though what remained of his hand was amputated. He was sent back to a hospital on Oahu, where he spent his convalescence teaching himself how to light matches with one hand, a feat he eventually mastered and demonstrated with pride.
Wallace Holt was awarded the Silver Star for his service.
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Private First Class Wallace M. Holt (MCSN: 824479), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division during operations against enemy Japanese forces on Tinian Island, Marianas Group on 25 July 1944. When a live hand grenade was thrown into a foxhole that sheltered him and a severely wounded companion, Private First Class Holt boldly picked up the missile and, attempting to throw it back at the enemy suffered serious body wounds and the loss of his hand when it exploded. By his daring initiative, selfless efforts and indomitable courage, Private First Class Holt upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
He died in 1997.
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