WWII · Battle Death Record
Elmer Fryar
Private, U.S. Army · Colorado
Medal of Honor
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- Elmer Fryar
- Entered the Service From
- Colorado
- Rank
- Private
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Unit / Regiment
- Company E, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- December 8, 1944
- Awards
- Medal of Honor, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
- Burial / Memorial
- Commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
- Grave
- Tablets of the Missing
Their story
On December 8, 1944, near Leyte in the Philippines, Private Fryar single-handedly held off an enemy platoon attempting to flank his company, personally killing many enemy soldiers. While covering his company's withdrawal, he threw himself in front of automatic weapons fire aimed at his platoon leader and, though mortally wounded, killed the enemy sniper with a hand grenade. His remains were never recovered.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.