Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Technical Sergeant

Unit:

Company C, 58th Armored Infantry Battalion, 8th Armored Division "Thundering Herd", U.S. Army (Company C, 58th Armored Infantry Battalion, 8th Armored Division "Thundering Herd", U.S. Army)

The Silver Star is presented to William H. McClain (33668208), Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving with Company C, 58th Armored Infantry Battalion, 8th Armored Division, in Holland and Germany on 26 February 1945 and 28 March 1945. When the radio operator was fatally wounded, Technical Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) McClain voluntarily returned more than four hundred yards under intense fire to secure the radio equipment and maintain communications with the main force. Later he returned over the same route to secure food for his platoon. On another occasion Sergeant McClain voluntarily went alone, under cover of darkness, into territory from which his platoon had been forced to withdraw because of superior forces. He reconnoitered a bridge across a canal and gained necessary information which enabled another company to successfully cross. He then led a patrol into enemy territory. Without regard for his own safety he advanced to give aid to a wounded member of the patrol. His courage and devotion to duty were an inspiration to all and reflect great credit on himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. Hometown: Pennsylvania.

G.O. No. 79, Hq. 8th Armd. Div., 2 August, 1945, Page 1.