Seymour W . Terry Seymour W . Terry ( December 11 , 1918 – May 13 , 1945 ) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II . Biography . Terry joined the Army from his birth city of Little Rock , Arkansas in 1943 , and by May 11 , 1945 was serving as a first lieutenant in Company B , 382nd Infantry Regiment , 96th Infantry Division . On that day , in a fight for " Zebra Hill " during the Battle of Okinawa , Terry repeatedly assaulted the Japan ese forces alone , despite heavy enemy fire , and encouraged his fellow soldiers in their attack . He was severely wounded by a Japanese mortar , and died of his injuries two days later . For his actions during the battle , he was promoted to captain and , on March 6 , 1946 , awarded the Medal of Honor . Terry was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity from the fraternity ' s first chapter at the University of Arkansas . Terry , aged 26 at his death , was buried at Roselawn Memorial Park in his hometown of Little Rock , Arkansas . Medal of Honor citation . Captain Terry ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : 1st Lt . Terry was leading an attack against heavily defended Zebra Hill when devastating fire from 5 pillboxes halted the advance . He braved the hail of bullets to secure satchel charge s and white phosphorus grenades , and then ran 30 yards directly at the enemy with an ignited charge to the first stronghold , demolished it , and moved on to the other pillboxes , bombarding them with his grenades and calmly cutting down their defenders with rifle fire as they attempted to escape . When he had finished this job by sealing the 4 pillboxes with explosives , he had killed 20 Japanese and destroyed 3 machineguns . The advance was again held up by an intense grenade barrage which inflicted several casualties . Locating the source of enemy fire in trenches on the reverse slope of the hill , 1st Lt . Terry , burdened by 6 satchel charges launched a 1 - man assault . He wrecked the enemy ' s defenses by throwing explosives into their positions and himself accounted for 10 of the 20 hostile troops killed when his men overran the area . Pressing forward again toward a nearby ridge , his 2 assault platoons were stopped by slashing machinegun and mortar fire . He fearlessly ran across 100 yards of fire - swept terrain to join the support platoon and urge it on in a flanking maneuver . This thrust , too , was halted by stubborn resistance . 1st Lt . Terry began another 1 - man drive , hurling grenades upon the strongly entrenched defenders until they fled in confusion , leaving 5 dead behind them . Inspired by this bold action , the support platoon charged the retreating enemy and annihilated them . Soon afterward , while organizing his company to repulse a possible counterattack , the gallant company commander was mortally wounded by the burst of an enemy mortar shell . By his indomitable fighting spirit , brilliant leadership , and unwavering courage in the face of tremendous odds , 1st Lt . Terry made possible the accomplishment of his unit ' s mission and set an example of heroism in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service .