Jack C. Montgomery | |
|---|---|
 1Lt Montgomery in 1945 after receiving his Medal of Honor | |
| Born | July 23, 1917 Long, Oklahoma, US |
| Died | June 11, 2002 (aged 84) Muskogee, Oklahoma, US[1] |
| Place of burial | Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Oklahoma, US |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1937–1945 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 3rd Battalion, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Silver Star Purple Heart (2) |
Jack Cleveland Montgomery (July 23, 1917 – June 11, 2002) was a United States Army officer, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Montgomery attended Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in Northern Oklahoma before transferring to Carnegie Highschool.[2] He is one of three graduates from Chilocco to have earned the Medal of Honor, making the Chilocco School one of the smallest schools in the United States to have graduated so many Medal of Honor recipients. After graduating in 1936, he enrolled at Bacone College and enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard. In 1938, Montgomery transferred to Redlands University in California. He returned to Oklahoma in 1940. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he reenlisted in the Army and served with his old unit, the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, through the duration of World War II.
In February 1944, Jack Montgomery was a First Lieutenant in I Company of the 180th Regiment. While defending the beachhead at Anzio, Lt. Montgomery's platoon came under fire from three fortified German positions. Lt. Montgomery single-handedly assaulted those positions with covering fire from artillery and his men. His actions that day earned him the Medal of Honor. Later in the day, Montgomery was wounded by mortar fire and taken to the field hospital on the Anzio beach. He was evacuated back to the United States, where he recovered and returned to service with a training Army in Texas. He was serving there when he received his medal from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jack Montgomery left the service in 1945 and spent the rest of his life in Oklahoma. For his service during World War II, Jack Montgomery was awarded the Medal of Honor, two Silver Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He died at the age of eighty-four and is buried in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery. The Veterans Health Administration medical center in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is named his honor.[3]
- ^ "Jack Montgomery, 84, and Gino Merli, 78, Two Medal of Honor Winners, Are Dead; Charged Three Enemy Positions at Anzio – New York Times". Nytimes.com. 2002-06-17. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ^ Carnegie Oklahoma: The First 100 Years. The Busiest Town on The Rock Island. Weatherford, Oklahoma: Schoonmaker Publisher. 2003. pp. 110–111.
- ^ "WWII: Biographies | Oklahoma Historical Society". Oklahoma Historical Society | OHS. Retrieved 2023-12-18.