Herman Claudious Wallace (June 12, 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 was born on June 12, 1924, in

Marlow, Oklahoma Marlow is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,662 at the 2010 census. Geography Marlow is located in northern Stephens County, in the southern part of the state, at (34.643410, -97.958806). According t ...

. He graduated from Lubbock High School in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, in 1942 and enrolled as an engineering major at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) later that year. He joined the Army from Lubbock in June 1943, and by February 27, 1945, was serving as a

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

in Company B, 301st Engineer Combat Battalion, 76th Infantry Division. On that day, during demining operations near

Prümzurlay Prümzurlay is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. In 1960, the first bungalow holiday village in Germany was built near the ruins of the Prümerburg and is now named after the castle. Si ...

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 at his death, was buried in the

City of Lubbock Cemetery A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, Lubbock, Texas.

Medal of Honor citation

Private First Class Wallace's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Honors

Wallace Theater on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was named after him upon dedication April 4, 1950. The former U.S. Army installation Wallace Barracks in the Bad Cannstatt district of Stuttgart, Germany was named after him during the Cold War.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Herman C. 1924 births 1945 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Lubbock, Texas United States Army soldiers World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Marlow, Oklahoma Military personnel from Oklahoma Burials in Texas United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel Lubbock High School alumni Texas Tech University alumni

Medal of Honor citation

Honors

See also

References