William H. Ott
| "I walked into a couple of machine gun posts, and I knocked them out..." |
Name: William H. Ott Date of Birth: 2/8/24 Branch of Service: Army Dates of Service: December 1942 to November 1945 Location of Military Service: England, Africa, Sicily, Italy |
| Mr. Ott enlisted in the army at the age of 17 years. He went to Fort Thomas, Kentucky for basic training and then to Fort Jackson. He was sent to Africa and then on to Italy. After some fighting in Sicily, he was sent to Naples and the Anzio Beachhead. His assignment was to get behind the German lines and report back information and positions. In an extraordinary act of bravery, he knocked out a machine gun post after being shot 6 times. He was not brought down until he was also hit by 2 hand grenades. Mr. Ott achieved the rank of Private First Class. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 Bronze Service Star, Combat Infantry Badge, World War II Victory Medal, The Cross of Valor and 3 Bronze Stars. |
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 Distinguished Service Cross Certificate |
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