Robert M. Viale (April 21, 1916 – February 5, 1945) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II. Viale joined the Army from Ukiah, California in March 1941,WWII Army Enlistment Records
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second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in Company K, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Division. On that day, during combat in Manila, capital of the Philippines, Viale smothered the blast of an accidentally dropped

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

with his body, sacrificing himself to protect the soldiers and civilians around him. For his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor eight months later, on October 25, 1945. Viale, aged 28 at his death, was buried in Ocean View Cemetery, Eureka, California.

Medal of Honor citation

Second Lieutenant Viale's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Forced by the enemy's detonation of prepared demolitions to shift the course of his advance through the city, he led the 1st platoon toward a small bridge, where heavy fire from 3 enemy pillboxes halted the unit. With 2 men he crossed the bridge behind screening grenade smoke to attack the pillboxes. The first he knocked out himself while covered by his men's protecting fire; the other 2 were silenced by 1 of his companions and a bazooka team which he had called up. He suffered a painful wound in the right arm during the action. After his entire platoon had joined him, he pushed ahead through mortar fire and encircling flames. Blocked from the only escape route by an enemy machinegun placed at a street corner, he entered a nearby building with his men to explore possible means of reducing the emplacement. In 1 room he found civilians huddled together, in another, a small window placed high in the wall and reached by a ladder. Because of the relative positions of the window, ladder, and enemy emplacement, he decided that he, being left-handed, could better hurl a grenade than 1 of his men who had made an unsuccessful attempt. Grasping an armed grenade, he started up the ladder. His wounded right arm weakened, and, as he tried to steady himself, the grenade fell to the floor. In the 5 seconds before the grenade would explode, he dropped down, recovered the grenade and looked for a place to dispose of it safely. Finding no way to get rid of the grenade without exposing his own men or the civilians to injury or death, he turned to the wall, held it close to his body and bent over it as it exploded. 2d Lt. Viale died in a few minutes, but his heroic act saved the lives of others.

Additional Honors

A small arms firing range at Ohio National Guard Training Site, Camp Perry, Ohio, is named in honor of 2LT Viale. Camp Perry is the home of the National Rifle and Pistol Championships. At Camp Roberts in California, a grenade range is named after 2LT Viale. His citation is written on the grenade range sign.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Viale, Robert M. 1916 births 1945 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Humboldt County, California United States Army officers World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor American people of Italian descent People from Ukiah, California Military personnel from California

Medal of Honor citation

Additional Honors

See also

References