Robert D. Maxwell
| Robert Dale Maxwell | |
|---|---|
Maxwell in 2006
|
|
| Born |
October 26, 1920 Boise, Idaho |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942 – 1945 |
| Rank | Technician Fifth Grade |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War II • North African Campaign • Italian Campaign • Operation Dragoon |
| Awards |
Medal of Honor Silver Star (2) |
Robert Dale Maxwell (born October 26, 1920) is a former 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. With the death of Nicholas Oresko on October 4, 2013, Maxwell became the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient.
Born on October 26, 1920, in Boise, Idaho, Maxwell joined the Army from Larimer County, Colorado. He served overseas as a technician fifth grade with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Assigned as the battalion "wire man", he carried a heavy roll of cable and was tasked with stringing phone lines to the command post. He began the war armed with a M1 Garand rifle, but was later reclassified as a non-combatant and carried only a .45 caliber pistol.
With the 7th Infantry, Maxwell took part in the North African Campaign followed by the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, marching to Palermo and on to Messina. The unit then landed at Salerno shortly after the Allied invasion of mainland Italy and fought northwards to an area near Cassino. Wounded during the early stages of the subsequent Battle of Anzio in January 1944, Maxwell spent the next few months recovering at a hospital in Naples.
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