Memorial

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Lee Mc Knight was a farmer before he enlisted on 1 April 1942. He was sent overseas in August 1943 and landed on Utah Beach during D-Day.

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. the citation reads: When an infantry battalion was harresed by enemy mortar fire, T/Sgt Mc Knight,. squad leader, led a patrol through theintense fire into enemy territory and located the mortar position. The data he obtained enabled the supporting artillery to register on enemy positions.

His Death:
On 12 December, 1944, at 2:00 am, he had been shooting the BAR and it was another members of his squad's turn. They took turns an hour at a time. T/Sgt Mc Knight was just relieved when the Germans launched an expendable bazooka shell at them. The blast ripped a hole into the pillbox and injured several men inside. T/Sgt Mc Knight was blown all of the way back against the back of the bunker. Everybody in the pillbox was yelling. T/Sgt Mc Knight had two little holes in his neck from shrapnel and although the wound did not look too bad, the shrapnel must have hit him at a critical place, because he was gurgling and blood was bubbling out of his mouth. He was in a state of semi-consciousness, but did not say anything at all after he was hit. They did not have a medic with them and did not have morphine. He was unable to speak, and his comrades did not think he felt pain.