1LT Jimmie W. Monteith Jr.

1LT Jimmie W. Monteith Jr.. . , Jimmie W. Monteith Jr. was born in 1917 in the small town of Low Moor in the Allegheny mountains of Virginia. Monteith and his family moved to Richmond, Virginia when he was nine years old. After high school, the 6'2" red-headed athlete attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech) in 1937 and became a member of the Virginia Tech corps of cadets. In 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was commissioned an officer in 1942. Monteith was assigned to the 16th infantry regiment, 1st infantry division, where he served in north Africa and Sicily before being stationed in England to prepare for the coming invasion of France., On D-Day, Monteith's L company platoon was part of the first wave to assault the eastern portion of Omaha Beach, landing on sections codenamed easy red and fox green. Amid unrelenting machine gunfire, he crossed the beach time and time again to lead his men, pinned down by the murderous assault, to an embankment., His Medal of Honor citation states in part:, Without regard to his own personal safety he continually moved up and down the beach reorganizing men for further assault. He then led the assault over a narrow protective ledge to the comparative safety of a cliff. Retracing his steps across the field to the beach, he moved over to where two tanks were under violent enemy fire. Completely exposed, 1st Lt. Monteith led the tanks on foot through a minefield and into firing positions. Under his direction several enemy positions were destroyed., Company L, thanks to the leadership of Monteith, reduced the concentration of fire along the eastern side of Omaha Beach, saving many American lives. He then led the effort to blow a hole in rows of barbed wire and cross a minefield to neutralize several machine gun positions. According to one of his sergeants, Monteith fired a rifle grenade at one of the machine guns and stood in full view at 40 yards when the first shot fell short. "The full fire of the gun was turned upon him, but he held his position and fired the second grenade to knock out the position." Monteith successfully crossed a field to disable another machine gun. Afterwards, he continued to move toward enemy fire, but was killed in the process., Jimmie Monteith was intent on protecting his men at all costs on 6 June 1944. Through his selfless service and sacrifice, he gave his life to do so. He was 26 years old., After the battle, both Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley recommended Monteith for the Medal of Honor. Monteith is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer, France., Given by Virginia Tech alumni, Virginia Tech corps of cadets, and D-Day supporters in honor of Jimmie W. Monteith and his selfless service and sacrifice on 6 June 1944. ,