211718 William S. Palmer United States Army from:Frankfort, Philadelphia, PA William Palmer saved several of his wounded foxhole buddies from a German onslaught during World War II. After working for the CCC, Ryan said, Mr. Palmer "went right into the Army." At a time and place in France lost to memory, Mr. Palmer "saved a few guys' lives," Ryan said. Mr. Palmer "was in a foxhole, and the Germans were rushing them," Ryan said. "There were three wounded guys in there with him, and he kept the Germans pinned down" with a Browning automatic rifle. "He wasn't wounded," Ryan said, and "held them off until reinforcements came." Though some veterans are silent about their wartime experiences until late in life, Mr. Palmer used to talk about it all the time. The Bronze Star and the military papers documenting his deeds were lost in October, Ryan said, when Hurricane Sandy hit their house in Brigantine. Though Mr. Palmer was not wounded in the foxhole attack, he later was wounded by a land mine severely enough that he was in the hospital for 18 months while they put him back together.
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