Originally posted:

May 21, 2012 on www.army.mil

By Sharon Mulligan, Combined Arms Support Command Public Affairs Office

FORT LEE, Va. -- A Medal of Honor recipient was honored May 17 as part of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps' 200th anniversary celebration.

A large crowd turned out to view the U.S. Army Ordnance School's parade field dedication ceremony here in honor of Maj. Hulon B. Whittington, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions that occurred on July 29, 1944, while attached to the 41st Armored Infantry, 2nd Armored Division, near Grimesnil, France.

This field will serve as a lasting tribute to this ordnance officer, said Col. Greg A. Mason, U.S. Army Ordnance School commandant. "Every Soldier who stands on this field will be reminded of his example of selfless service and dedication to duty."

The Ordnance School, which is part of the Combined Arms Support Command, instructs almost 30,000 students a year in 288 courses, which support training for 34 enlisted military occupational specialties, nine warrant officer and two officer areas of concentration.

During the keynote address, Dr. William F. Atwater, who served as the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum director for 18 years, described Whittington as a real American hero.

"I never had the honor to meet him, but I wish I had," he said. "That way, I could have said I met a man who embodied all of the Army values…. If he were here, I would say thank you for your service, deeds and the example you have set.

"What should we take away? I suggest we all should take away his example of values," Atwater said as he spoke about how Whittington's values helped him make decisions and defined who he was as a person and Soldier.

Atwater went on to explain the criteria for being awarded the Medal of Honor and how Whittington's actions were great examples of the high standards required for that award. He said that the ordnance Soldier was more than the embodiment of the Army's core values; he was a hero.

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