Jack Llewellyn Knight - Cool, Texas
Posted by: txoilgas
N 32° 48.216 W 098° 00.272
14S E 593199 N 3629953
The only Medal of Honor awarded for the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations
Waymark Code: WMAD99
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/30/2010
Views: 11
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 124th Cavalry Regiment, Mars Task Force. Place and date: Near LoiKang, Burma, 2 February 1945. Entered service at: Weatherford, Tex. Birth: Garner, Tex. G.O. No: 44, 6 June 1945.
Citation:
He led his cavalry troop against heavy concentrations of enemy mortar, artillery, and small arms fire. After taking the troop's objective and while making preparations for a defense, he discovered a nest of Japanese pillboxes and foxholes to the right front. Preceding his men by at least 10 feet, he immediately led an attack Single-handedly he knocked out 2 enemy pillboxes and killed the occupants of several foxholes. While attempting to knock out a third pillbox, he was struck and blinded by an enemy grenade. Although unable to see, he rallied his platoon and continued forward in the assault on the remaining pillboxes. Before the task was completed he fell mortally wounded. 1st Lt. Knight's gallantry and intrepidity were responsible for the successful elimination of most of the Jap positions and served as an inspiration to officers and men of his troop. (
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The nearby Texas Historical Marker states;
Jack Llewellyn Knight (May 29, 1917 - February 2, 1945)
Born on a farm near Garner (4 miles north) Jack L. Knight enlisted in the Texas National Guard in 1940. Mobilized for service during World War II, his unit was posted to Southeast Asia to help open the Burma Road between India and China. During one of the last battles in that region, Knight was killed while leading an attack on a Japanese position. Four months later, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only one awarded for the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. In 1949 he was buried in this cemetery named for his great-grandfather.