• Home
• Military people
• Herman C. Wallace

Herman C. Wallace Military person

Herman C. Wallace (1924 – February 27, 1945) 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 World War II.Wallace joined the Army from Lubbock, Texas in June 1943, and by February 27, 1945 was serving as a private first class in Company B, 301st Engineer Combat Battalion, 76th Infantry Division. On that day, during demining operations near Prümzurlay in western Germany, Wallace stepped on an S-mine. Knowing that if he tried to run away the mine would pop up and explode a few feet off the ground, thus endangering the soldiers near him, he deliberately remained standing on the mine until it detonated. Wallace was killed in the explosion, but the blast was confined to the ground and no other soldiers were injured. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor eight months later, on October 25, 1945.Wallace, aged 20 or 21 at his death, was buried in the City of Lubbock Cemetery, Lubbock, Texas.