Greensburg, In. — Republican Congressman from the 6th District in Indiana and candidate for U.S. Senate Luke Messer awarded Greensburg’s William Deiwert the Presidential Unit Citation today for his unit’s acts of heroism in the Korean War.
Messer presented the award to Deiwert today during a ceremony at the Decatur County Courthouse.
In June of 1953, then Private First Class Deiwert’s small machine gun section was temporarily assigned to help defend a remote location on the Korean peninsula called Outpost Harry. After a week of intense combat, the outpost was successfully defended from Communist forces.
“William Deiwert is the definition of a Hoosier hero and this recognition is long overdue,” Messer said. “On behalf of all Hoosiers, I thank him for his service to our country and for displaying true bravery in the line of duty.”
While several other U.S. rifle companies from the defense of Outpost Harry were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, Deiwert’s unit was eligible for the award but overlooked since his was not permanently assigned to the larger unit.
This past September, Sonya Miller, Deiwert’s granddaughter, contacted Rep. Messer’s office seeking help obtaining the citation for her grandfather and after working with the National Personnel Records Center and the U.S. Army, Deiwert received the long-overdue recognition.
The Presidential Unit Citation is given to units for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy.
