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Medal of Honor Recipient

Willibald Charles Bianchi

U.S. Army · World War II

MOH-RC-000079Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: 1904 Army design, early suspension ribbon. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Army Medal of HonorRecorded presentation: 1942

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

About this image

Representative form selected from the recorded presentation year (1942), not authenticated medal-object provenance.

Medal imagery and historical designs →

Medal of Honor

1942-02-03

near Bagac, Bataan Province, Luzon, Philippine Islands

Rank at action
First Lieutenant
Service
U.S. Army
Conflict
World War II
Unit or command
45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts
Presentation date
March 5, 1942

The Citation

Sources ↓
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 3 February 1942, near Bagac, Province of Bataan, Philippine Islands. When the rifle platoon of another company was ordered to wipe out 2 strong enemy machinegun nests, 1st Lt. Bianchi voluntarily and of his own initiative, advanced with the platoon leading part of the men. When wounded early in the action by 2 bullets through the left hand, he did not stop for first aid but discarded his rifle and began firing a pistol. He located a machinegun nest and personally silenced it with grenades. When wounded the second time by 2 machinegun bullets through the chest muscles, 1st Lt. Bianchi climbed to the top of an American tank, manned its antiaircraft machinegun, and fired into strongly held enemy position until knocked completely off the tank by a third severe wound.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. Willibald Charles Bianchi — current recipient profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-25

    current identity, service, rank, unit, action metadata, and recipient-profile citation match

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-000082
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-25
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
11
Entered service at
New Ulm, Minn.
Archive transcription SHA-256
769e251569ef9ac0b4e84305ce8fd6a8db4b8e13e33dae22846551ac9c713287

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; current rendered profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

Current profile expands the middle initial and records the alternate name Bill Bianchi. Rank at action is retained rather than the later highest rank. Legacy full citation text and row provenance retained; General Order comparison remains pending.