Medal of Honor with Ed Tracy December 5, 2007

Leadership came naturally to the young Kansas native, newly promoted to Staff Sergeant on the eve of the landing at Normandy. He had, after all, a perfect model: his older brother Roland, who would be landing with the second wave, right behind him.

The 2007 season at the Pritzker Military Library comes to a fitting conclusion with Medal of Honor recipient Walter D. Ehlers, who will sit down for a special interview with Ed Tracy on Wednesday, December 5, 2007. This program is free and open to the public, with a question-and-answer session to follow the interview. The presentation and live webcast will begin at 6:00 p.m., and a reception for Library members will precede the event at 5:00 p.m. This event will be taped for broadcast on WYCC Channel 20.

With his brother about to land a few hundred yards away, Walter Ehlers led his unit through the beach and eight miles inland, where they destroyed several machine-gun nests and severely weakened the German defenses over the next day. Even after being wounded, Ehlers managed to provide cover for the entire company to withdrawal and carry his wounded rifleman to safety. Despite his wounds, Ehlers refused to be evacuated, and left the makeshift hospital to resume command of his unit. He would learn in the months that followed that his actions had earned him the Medal of Honor, and that his brother Roland never made it off the beach on D-Day.

It is a common refrain among Medal of Honor recipients: they speak about the award not in terms of themselves, but about their fellow soldiers, the ones who did not survive. In Walter Ehlers’ case, his own admiration resides with his brother, Roland, who died on the beach. “He was always kind of looking out for me,” Ehlers said. “He was my hero.”

Ehlers retired after 29 years working for the Veterans’ Administration and 8 more on behalf of the Disabled American Veterans. He returned to Normandy in 2002, and was recently interviewed for The War, a documentary by Ken Burns.

Now in its fourth year, Medal of Honor with Ed Tracy has featured more than twenty interviews with our nation’s greatest military heroes and their riveting stories of courage under fire. The series will continue with monthly interviews in 2008.

Seating for this event is limited, so reservations are strongly recommended. Call 312.587.0234 or email [email protected].

Official Website: http://www.pritzkermilitarylibrary.org/events