Jack Llewellyn Knight

JACK LLEWELLYN KNIGHT (1917 ~ 1945). Medal of Honor recipient Jack L. Knight was born on May 29, 1917, in Garner, Texas. He attended Garner High School before graduating from Weatherford Junior College in 1938.

Along with two of his brothers, Knight enlisted in Troop F, 124th Cavalry of the Texas National Guard, one of the last American horse cavalry units, in Mineral Wells. His unit was called into federal service and assigned to India in 1940, where its task was to open the strategically vital Burma Road between China and India.

A First Lieutenant by 1945, knight led his troop in one of the last battles along the Burma Road near Loi-Kang. After securing his objective against heavy enemy fire (including artillery and mortar fire), Knight came upon a group of enemy pillboxes. Advancing ahead of his men, Knight personally disabled two of the pillboxes and several enemy fox-hole positions. While attacking a third pillbox, Knight was blinded by an exploding grenade. His brother Curtis Knight rushed to his aid, only to be struck by enemy fire. Ordering his men to assist his brother and refusing aid himself, Knight continued leading the assault, though blinded. Knight was mortally wounded later in the battle, and for his actions he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia, Louis Mountbatten, named the site of the battle "Knight's Hill" in his honor. In 1972, Lord Mountbatten dedicated a marble marker in Mineral Wells honoring Knight and Troop F. His remains were returned from Burma and laid to rest in Holders Memorial Chapel Cemetery in Cool, Texas.

Bibliography: 124th Cavalry Regiment. http://www.kwanah.com/txmilmus/124.htm, October 11, 2005. "Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor in Texas," Capitol Visitors Center, State Preservation Board of Texas. Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/KK/fknzb.html, September 26, 2005. Medal of Honor.com, http://www.medalofhonor.com/JackKnight.htm, October 14, 2005.