b. 28/02/1922 Blytheville, Arkansas. d. 16/11/1944 near Limey, France.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 14/09/1944 near Pompey, France.
Edgar H Lloyd MOH
Harold Lloyd was born on February 28, 1922, in Yarbro (Mississippi County) to Edgar Bentley Lloyd and Lillian Lindley Lloyd, who were farmers. He had one sibling, a sister named Marvin Emma. Lloyd graduated from Blytheville High School in 1939 and then attended the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County). There, he was president of the Associated Students and active in fraternity and other campus activities. He was captain of Company F of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) infantry unit. Inducted into the U.S. Army in April 1943, he was allowed to complete college, graduating with a BSA in agronomy on June 7, 1943.
Lloyd then attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on November 9, 1943. After various postings for training, on July 1, 1944, he went overseas as part of General George C. Patton’s Third Army. He was a rifle platoon leader of Company E, 319th Infantry, Eightieth Division.
By September 1944, the 319th Infantry was participating in the Lorraine operation to repel German troops near the Moselle River in France. On September 14, his company was assigned to expel 200 enemy troops from a heavily fortified position near the small town of Pompey, approximately twelve kilometers north of the city of Nancy. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on that date and was subsequently promoted to first lieutenant. His Medal of Honor citation notes that Lloyd “leaped to his feet and led his men on a run into the raking fire of the enemy’s position, shouting encouragement to them. He jumped into the first enemy machine gun position, knocked out the gunner with his fist, dropped a grenade, and jumped out before it exploded.” During that action, he “personally destroyed 5 machine guns and many of the enemy and by his daring leadership and conspicuous bravery inspired his men to overrun the enemy positions and accomplish the objective in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.”
Lloyd was scheduled to receive his Medal of Honor from President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he was killed in action by enemy sniper fire on November 16, 1944, near Limey, France. He is buried on the Mississippi County Courthouse lawn in Blytheville, adjacent to a monument honoring all of the Mississippi County service men killed in both world wars. His family gave his Medal of Honor to the county judge, and it is kept in the judge’s office in the courthouse.
After the war, UA honored its war heroes by naming several temporary housing facilities for some of them. Lloyd Halls, a group of six barrack-style buildings, served as dormitories until 1955 and were later demolished. Lloyd Way, a street in Fort Benning, Georgia, is also named for him, as is an athletic field in Europe.
MOH CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 14 September 1944, Company E, 319th Infantry, with which 1st Lt. Lloyd was serving as a rifle platoon leader, was assigned the mission of expelling an estimated enemy force of 200 men from a heavily fortified position near Pompey, France. As the attack progressed, 1st Lt. Lloyd’s platoon advanced to within 50 yards of the enemy position where they were caught in a withering machine-gun and rifle crossfire which inflicted heavy casualties and momentarily disorganized the platoon. With complete disregard for his own safety, 1st Lt. Lloyd leaped to his feet and led his men on a run into the raking fire, shouting encouragement to them. He jumped into the first enemy machine-gun position, knocked out the gunner with his fist, dropped a grenade, and jumped out before it exploded. Still shouting encouragement he went from one machine-gun nest to another, pinning the enemy down with submachine-gun fire until he was within throwing distance, and then destroyed them with hand grenades. He personally destroyed five machine guns and many of the enemy, and by his daring leadership and conspicuous bravery inspired his men to overrun the enemy positions and accomplish the objective in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. His audacious determination and courageous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States.
BURIAL LOCATION: COURTHOUSE LAWN CEMETERY, BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS.
COURTHOUSE LAWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: MISSISSIPPI COUNTY COURTHOUSE, BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS.
