William R. Caddy

Who was William R. Caddy?

Private First Class William Robert Caddy, was a United States Marine who sacrificed his life to save the lives of his platoon leader and platoon sergeant during the Battle of Iwo Jima. For his bravery, he posthumously received his nation's highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor. He was the 72nd Marine of World War II to receive this honor.

Caddy dropped out of high school after 2 years and worked giving most of his earnings to his mother before being drafted in the Marine Corps in 1943. He attended training and was sent overseas to the Pacific Theatre of World War II aboard the USS Arthur Middleton. After the Middleton he went to Hawaii for training and then went to Iwo Jima aboard the USS Darke . For the next 12 days he fought with his unit on the island until he was killed March 3, 1945 when an enemy grenade landed near him and he sacrificed himself by smothering the blast with his body.