Please help me honor and remember the incredible Marine Corps Staff Sergeant William Windrich, who earned the Medal of Honor posthumously during the Chosin Reservoir withdrawal, for leading his Marines in a valiant defense of hill 1520 against Chinese communist forces. Though badly wounded, he stayed in the fight, rallying his men until he succumbed to his wounds.

A native of Chicago who was nicknamed “Windy” Bill by his fellow Marines, Windrich had joined the Corps before World War II and served across the Pacific, including at Tarawa. After the War he stayed in the Marines, serving aboard the USS McKinley during the atomic bomb tests at McKinley atoll, at Marine Corps headquarters, and in China.

Assigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade that rushed to defend Korea in the summer of 1950, Windrich fought at the Pusan perimeter, through the Inchon landings and all the way to the Chosin Reservoir as a platoon sergeant in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.

Windrich’s remains were recovered in 1955 and he is interred in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Navy Secretary Daniel Kimball on February 8, 1952. Please honor and remember this great American and Marine leader.