- SURNAME
Williams
- FORENAME
Perry Oliver
- UNIT
504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Company E)
- RANK
Staff Sergeant
- NUMBER
36051418
- AWARD
Silver Star
- PLACE
Belgium, 1st January 1945
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
resided Peoria, Illinois
born 07.02.1915 Knox, Starke County, Indiana, USA
son of Basil & Jennie (nee Keckler) Williams
employed by Armour and Company
resided 2914 South Jefferson Street, Peoria, Illinois (draft card)
16.10.1940 draft card Peoria, Illinois
02.04.1941 entered service
23.09.1945 discharged (rank SSGT)
employed as security guard, Dawsons Home Center
died 29.10.1975 East Peoria, Illinois, USA (Aged 60)
Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Park, East Peoria, Tazewell County, Illinois. Row 3,22
CITATION:
Silver Star : The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Staff Sergeant Perry O. Williams (ASN: 36051418), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Company E, 2d Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, in action on 1 January 1945, about one mile from ****, Belgium. Staff Sergeant Williams, squad leader, led a patrol through concentrations of enemy troops in the town, directing his men so skillfully that vital information was obtained and his mission accomplished before the enemy detected the patrol’s presence. When attacked by three machine guns and a platoon of riflemen, supported by mortars, Staff Sergeant Williams placed his men under cover, then crawled across open ground to destroy one machine gun and a crew of three with a grenade. Returning to his patrol, he skillfully withdrew his men with a minimum of casualties. The courage and skill displayed by Staff Sergeant Williams are in keeping with the highest traditions of the Airborne Forces.
