Private Elmer Fryar, Medal of Honor - One Angel's Incredible Fight on Leyte in 1944

Introduction

0:00You're listening to Down From Heaven, a podcast that covers the history of the 11th Airborne Division from World War II through today. I'm your host, Jeremy Holm. Thank you for joining me today. Let's jump right in.

0:30Hello, friends.

Host Introduction

0:49Thank you for joining me today. My name is Jeremy Holm. I'm an 11th Airborne Division historian. I'm also the author of three books on the Angels, When Angels Fall, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II, and then our acclaimed series, Down From Heaven, the 11th Airborne Division in World War II, Volumes 1 and 2. It has been pretty amazing to hear from readers around the world who are discovering the history of the Angels through these books. But really, the greatest praise that I have ever received has come from the troopers themselves who helped me write these books.

1:20One of them told me with tears in his eyes, thank you for telling our story. Now the world will know what we did over there. So to all of you watching this video and to all my subscribers, thank you so much for your interest in the 11th Airborne Division. Just know that the Angels appreciate your desire to learn their history. You can find all three books on Amazon and at most book outlets. We are working on the audio versions of the books right now, so stay tuned for that. I also run two online museums dedicated to the Angels, 511pir.com and 11thairborne.com.

1:53If you'd like to support this channel, the best way to do so is by purchasing our books or by visiting our online store, 11thairborne.com forward slash store. It's full of Airborne books, challenge coins, custom hats, posters, coasters, just a whole lot of other things. You can also donate online to help us preserve and promote the history of the 11th Airborne Division. I want to thank everyone who has contributed so far. Your donations have helped with this video and other videos we have produced, as well

2:24as several research trips.

Elmer Friar Biography

2:26One of those trips was a recent one I took to Colorado, which brings me to the topic of today's video, Colorado's own Private Elmer Friar.

2:36Whenever men meet in combat, invariably there are a few who display gallantry in the face of the enemy at the risk of their own lives. You know, we say that they went above and beyond the call of duty, but that phrase really falls short for the level of courage and sacrifice that is displayed. This is the story of one of those American heroes. Elmer Edward Friar was born in what is now known as Lakewood, Colorado, just outside of Denver to George and Martha Friar. Since Lakewood wasn't incorporated until 1969, you'll frequently see Denver or even Denver

3:10Ward 7 listed in documents about Elmer's life. I recently toured Lakewood and, you know, once again I found that there are a lot of places who mistakenly list his birth year as 1911. But as you can see here on his draft card, he was born on February 10th, 1914, so just a few months before the outbreak of World War I. This means that Friar was not 31 or 32 at the time that he earned the Medal of Honor. He was 30, though that still makes him the oldest American paratrooper to earn the Medal

3:40of Honor in World War II. Now, when Elmer was about 15, he and his family moved to Maple Grove, Colorado. You know, that included his parents and also his older brother Donald and his sister Dorothy. Now, Elmer's father, George, was a boilermaker for the railroad, while his mother, Martha, cleaned the train cars. So I'm assuming that's what instigated the move. Now, this changed in 1930, when George became a locomotive engineer, and Martha chose to stay home with the family. George's new job also led to another move for the family, this time to Denver's 3913

4:12Osacola Street. That could be Osacola, I'm not really sure. The Friar's old house still stands today, and if you decide to visit, please make sure that you are respectful of the current owners and their privacy. Now, after moving to Denver, Elmer began attending the Old Prospect Valley School, which provided elementary education for Southern Weld County students. Like the Friar's old house, this old school does still stand. It's there in the town of Keensburg, and is a registered historic landmark. Unfortunately, due to time constraints on my last trip, I wasn't able to swing by and

4:44take a photo, so if any of you have one, please email me, I'd love to see it. After Prospect Valley, Elmer Friar attended Wheat Ridge High School, and this is the old high school, not the new one that I drove past a few days ago. I wonder how many Wheat Ridge graduates know that one of their own is a national hero. I also wonder if the school has any displays or commemorative plaques up about Elmer Friar to help the students and staff know about his service and sacrifice. If any of you there at the high school or in Denver know, please contact me.

5:15Now, after graduation, I really kind of lose track of Elmer. You know, one record I found says that this is when the 5'6", 150-pound Friar joined the Army and served between 1932 and 1935. I've been unable to find any concrete evidence of this, so I am not going to say that for certain. I do know that something took him to Ada, Ohio, but I'm still working on what that was exactly. Elmer actually lists Ohio and not Colorado as his 1935 residence on the 1940 census while

5:49he was in the Marines, and yes, you did hear me correctly.

Marine Corps Service

5:53On June 2nd, 1937, Elmer Friar enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and became one of the few and the proud. One record lists Private Friar as a trumpeter first class in August of 1937, while he was stationed at California's Mare Naval Shipyard. I wasn't really sure what a trumpeter was, so I had to look that up, and I found that part of his responsibilities would have been to sound calls, give general orders, perform

6:24at funerals, and then other functions with the other musicians. Elmer was then assigned to serve with the Marine Detachment on board the USS Colorado in November of 1937, which, considering he was from Colorado, is kind of a cool, ironic coincidence. Of note, a few months earlier, the Colorado had been involved in the search for the famous aviator Amelia Earhart, who, of course, has never been found. Now, commissioned in 1923, the Colorado would see action in the Pacific Theater during World

6:54War II, including participating in operations off Leyte in November of 1944. That is the same month that Private Friar and the 11th Airborne Division began combat operations on the island. Elmer and the Colorado's Marine Detachment would have served as the ship's landing force, manned the ship's weapons, and provided shipboard security. In addition to those duties, in April of 1938, Elmer took his turn serving as a mess man, which, if you don't know what that means, it basically means that he helped serve the food and clean

7:26the tables in the ship's mess. Then, in September of 1938, Elmer and a few other Marines were sent down to San Diego to the Marines' rifle range. And it was here that Elmer's skill with the rifle really began to be known. But we'll come back to that a little bit later. On December 31st, 1938, Private Friar received a Good Conduct Medal, and three months later, he and the Colorado took a little cruise down to Guantanamo Bay in March of 1939 for fleet exercises. Now, everything I've found says that Elmer was a great Marine, but to be fully transparent,

7:59he was AWOL several times. The first time occurred between June 30th and July 6th of 1939. Elmer turned himself in on July 7th and spent the next two weeks waiting for transportation to Seattle. The USS Brassos arrived on July 30th and, well, I'm sure you can imagine the kind of reception that Private Friar got. Elmer actually received two months confinement and ten months loss of pay for four months by summary court-martial. Three months later, in October of 1939, Private Friar missed the boat again, literally.

8:31When the USS Colorado departed for Puget Sound again to celebrate Navy Day, Private Friar was not on board and had to catch a ride to Washington on the ammunition ship, the USS Nitro. I don't have the full story on either of these situations. I'm still trying to pull some records. But this time, Elmer was fined $10 a month for six months and was threatened with a BCD. So if you don't know what that is, that's actually a bad conduct discharge at the end of his enlistment if he did not keep his nose clean for the remainder of his time. One month later, in December of 1939, Private Friar was assigned to the America's new 1st

9:07Defense Battalion in San Diego. He was a part of the 5th Field Artillery Battalion's Battery A. Now, the 1st Defense Battalion was formed under Lieutenant Colonel Burt Bone and was the first of several 900-man defense battalions that the Corps formed to defend advanced bases in the Pacific. We have to remember, this is 1939, and concern over Imperial Japan's conquest was growing. So the Marines devised these defense battalions as a counteractive measure. 1st Lieutenant Robert Heinel explained that the Marine Corps had devised a sort of expeditionary

9:41coast artillery that was capable of occupying an untenanted and undefended locality, of installing an all-around sea air defense, and this within three days. So basically what that means is, the Marines wanted to be able to move one of these defense battalions to a strategic location where they would set up within three days to be able to defend from amphibious landings, aerial attack, and so forth. So Private Friar's unit would actually be sent to defend Johnston, Palmyra, and Wake Islands

10:11as part of the Rainbow Five war plan, but Elmer would not go with them, and we'll explain why in just a second. Four months after his arrival in the 1st Defense Battalion, Elmer and four other Marines were sent down to La Jolla for the Western Division Rifle and Pistol Competition. In 1940, the Marine Corps decided to hold their own matches since the Nationals, traditionally held at Camp Perry, were canceled that year. Again, this is 1940. So the Army's Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, you know, recommended that due to America's

10:46rush to reorganize and, you know, build up their own military strength, that the Nationals be canceled because the Army could not provide the necessary support personnel to put on the competition. While the Marines, you know, never ones to wait around for the Army, simply organized their own competition. And I'm actually still looking for the match results to see how Private Fryer did. One month after the competition, Private Fryer's enlistment with the Marines ended. It actually came to an end in May of 1940, but I did find one document that says that Private

11:20Fryer simply left for home a few days early on April 22nd. After his enlistment with the Marines was over, Elmer went back to Colorado to join his family in their new hometown of Edgewater. And there he registered with the local draft board on October 16th, 1940. And then he went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad, just like his father. That is until Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After America declared war on Imperial Japan, Elmer Fryer enlisted in the Army, in Oregon

Army Enlistment

11:52no less, and volunteered for America's new airborne arm. As a result, in January of 1943, Private Elmer Fryer was sent down to a little camp outside a little town known as Camp Toccoa, Georgia.

12:08There, Private Fryer was assigned to Easy Company of the new 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. It was at Toccoa that Elmer and his buddies became very well acquainted with Mount Curahee, or as one of the other paratroopers told me, that damn hill. And of course, it's three miles up and three miles down run, which they performed almost daily. Elmer's Easy Company actually cheered when one of their own, Corporal Harry Yazzie, a former wrestler from Thoreau, New Mexico, took part in a race up and down Curahee that was

12:40held among the 511th's earliest NCOs, and this was on January 23rd. Now, Corporal Yazzie set a regimental record of just 40 minutes and 5 seconds, and as a prize, the Diné was awarded $15 cash and a 10-day furlough. And now Harry, who was already a qualified paratrooper and had joined the Airborne from Fort Bliss's cavalry units, said of his new comrades in the 511th, I'm with the swellest group of men and officers in the world. Now, Elmer Fryer and Harry Yazzie and the rest of Easy Company were in good hands.

13:14Their CO was actually the legendary Hobart Wade, a pioneer in America's parachute branch. Hobart was a member of America's historic Original Test Platoon, where he had served as Platoon Sergeant, and was one of the most qualified jumpers in the United States Army. And due to his own years of prior military service, Private Fryer fit right in in the 511th, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel R&D Hardrock Hogan. Now, I'll be doing a future video on Colonel Hogan, but I just want to say this man was a legend in the Airborne community, and I wish he received more attention than he does.

13:49There's a reason the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment became so elite. The colonel pushed his men as hard as Captain Herbert Zobel did with Easy Company of the 506 there at Camp Toccoa. But, Colonel Hogan also had the leadership skills of Dick Winters, so think of him as a combination of the two. One of his paratroopers said that Colonel Hogan was the best regimental commander in the whole damn Airborne Command. My grandfather's friend, Corporal Wilbur Wilcox of Company Deed, paid Orrin the ultimate compliment

14:23when he said, Colonel Hogan was an enlisted man's officer. So stay tuned for our future videos on Colonel Hogan. But let's get back to Private Elmer Fryer. The fact that Elmer Fryer even made it into the 511th PIR says a lot about him, since Colonel Hogan set extremely high acceptance standards. There's a reason his men started calling him the Hard Rock of Toccoa. Out of 12,000 Airborne Volunteers, Hard Rock only accepted 3,000 of them, and those were

14:53the ones who had to pass his initial physical and mental tests. And that number would be further whittled down to about 2,100. So you can see that Colonel Hogan only wanted the best of the best, and the fact that Private Fryer remained after all that whittling down lets you know what kind of paratrooper he was. And the Hard Rock's troopers would be the first to tell you that they were the best there ever was. Now, Elmer's regiment would head for what would soon become known as Camp McCall, North Carolina, where they joined the newly forming 11th Airborne Division under Major General Joseph

15:29May Swing. The division was activated on February 25th, 1943. Now, General Swing was another legend in the Airborne community. And we've put together a Part 1 video about his early life, which you can see. I'll put a link down below. We're working on Part 2, so stay tuned for that. A few months after activation, the entire 11th Airborne Division participated in the dedication of Camp McCall on May 1st, 1943. Camp McCall is, of course, named after Private John Tommy McCall, who died in Algeria during

16:00Operation Torch. Camp McCall was the foundation that the 11th Airborne built itself on under General Swing's leadership. And a few weeks after the dedication, Elmer Friars E. Company went down to Fort Benning's jump school, where the former Marine became a full-fledged paratrooper. Now, the 511th had been so well-trained by Colonel Hogan at Camp Tekoa that when they were sent down to jump school at Fort Benning, they actually skipped Phase A, which is the first week, all the physical, and then went straight into the second week.

16:31And every Angel I talked to made sure to point out that none of their troopers refused to jump during jump school. So the regiment returns to Camp McCall, where they wore their jump wings and boots with pride, and they continued to look down on the rest of the division's non-jump-qualified troopers, which would prove to be a huge headache for General Swing in the months to come. The Angels underwent long marches, classes, field exercises, and plenty of maneuvers, including the historic Knollwood maneuvers held in December of 1943.

17:02And this is where Elmer Friar and the rest of the 11th Airborne Division proved that an Airborne Division could be successfully deployed and resupplied by air, which, in a nutshell, saved the future of the Airborne as we know it. We've actually got another video on the Knollwood maneuvers and the works. So as you can see, we have a lot of videos that we're planning for the future, in addition to all the ones we've already created. So if you're new here, make sure you like and subscribe so you can receive all those updates for future videos. Now, while at Camp McCall, Elmer's E-Company underwent preliminary rifle instruction, or

17:37PRI, before practicing on the transition course and learning to execute snapshots at the close combat range. Now, E-Company, of course, with all the other paratroopers, were reminded that their rifle is life. And they demonstrated their understanding of this by the entire company earning a 100% qualification rating. Then on January 1st, 1944, the entire 11th Airborne traveled to Camp Polk, Louisiana for more training, maneuvers, final inspections by the War Department.

Training and Deployment

18:10You know, really by now, Elmer and his fellow angels were just ready to get into the fight. Um, they were just tired of waiting around, and, you know, my grandpa, 1st Lieutenant Andrew Carrico of Company D, said, The officers and enlisted men alike were hyped to an extreme degree. They were anxious to get into battle after all the months of training and preparation. Their wish was granted, and on May 2nd, 1944, Elmer's regiment disembarked from Camp Stoneman, California. Destination unknown. The entire 511th PIR sailed on board the SS Sea Pipe, which was a merchant marine ship,

18:46which all the paratroopers came to hate over the next few weeks, because the crew would actually steal things from their bags and bunks, and, you know, it was just crowded and hot, and they said the food was terrible. I've actually always wondered what Elmer Friar thought about his cruise across the Pacific on the Sea Pipe after having served on the USS Colorado with a professional crew. So everyone in the 511th PIR was relieved when they finally reached New Guinea, and they could get off that ship. But after arriving on New Guinea, the angels were trucked inland to Dobadura, to the old

19:19airfields, um, where they set up their camp, and then they spent several months undergoing theater training. It was here that the angels learned to, uh, live in the jungle and fight in the jungle and fight the Japanese, and, and some of their main teachers were actually veteran Australian troops who had been fighting on the island, um, in the earlier campaigns. And they also learned from local Papuans, um, how to live in the jungle and then, you know, move quietly and effectively, um, through that environment. I know several troopers told me that they were a little surprised when they found the locals

19:53were given a bounty system where they were paid for every pair of Japanese soldiers' ears that they brought in. Now, while they were on New Guinea, since there were no bars or beachfront restaurants to enjoy, the angels spent a lot of their time stealing from nearby units, and this included, you know, crates of food, uh, weapons, um, I heard of grenade launchers, jeeps, ducks, um, you name it. And this is partially what led to their moniker of the angels. There are several pieces of that puzzle that I'll cover in a later video that all came together

20:28to earn the 11th Airborne, uh, division, the nickname, the angels. So I've kind of tried to cover that as quickly as I could, but if you'd like to learn more about the 11th Airborne Division's time in stateside training, uh, and their formation and so forth, and then also while they're on New Guinea, uh, I recommend purchasing our book Down from Heaven Volume 1, which covers Camp Toccoa through the Leyte Campaign, which is where Elmer Friar and the 11th Airborne Division would head next.

Leyte Campaign

20:57In November of 1944, the angels found themselves on Leyte. Now, initially the island was just going to be a stopover point, um, on their way to Luzon to participate in the invasion, um, but General Swing talked his superiors into letting his angels participate in combat operations there. In fact, every other allied unit that had tried to cross Leyte from east to west had failed in their efforts. Time Magazine, on November 20th, 1944, said the U.S. drive on land slowed down to a walk after it had overrun over 50% of the northern half of Leyte.

21:32Ormok, the key western port where the Japs had landed and deployed in a one-mile semicircle, could be approached only from the north or south unless U.S. troops attempted to come over the mountains between Dagami and Jaro, a long, difficult pass. And it was the 11th Airborne Division which would attempt that long, difficult pass. The angels' main task was to head up into the mountains and destroy Japan's chief supply line, while eliminating the enemy's 16th and 26th Infantry Divisions. Now, this was a tough

22:05job given to an already understrength Airborne Division, but no angel I talked to ever said they doubted that they could do it. As one angel wrote decades later, only troops who had been conditioned the airborne way could live and fight over that weird, virtually impassable terrain. Now, Private Fryer and the 511th PIR were sent to spearhead the 11th Airborne Division's push inland. They headed up into Leyte's Heights on Thanksgiving of 1944, and several troopers told me they remembered trying to huddle over their mess kits to eat their

22:36Thanksgiving meal while it was pouring rain, which of course turned their meal into more of a soup. Everyone spoke of Leyte as the worst fighting that the angels were involved in, and this included the division's bloody battles to liberate Luzon the next year, 1945. The 11th Airborne's Private First Class Ernie Bernheim wrote years later, When you throw in the never-ending rains, the near-starvation conditions, and the constant

23:16enemy bonsai attacks, and the myriad of tropical diseases, it's no wonder that one of the angels said that after Leyte, hell was a vacation. After several weeks of intense combat, on December 7th, 1944, the 511th 2nd Battalion moved westward towards Annas to cut the enemy supply trail, which again was one of their main goals on the island. Now, after two attempts to push the Japanese off a nearby hill, 2nd Battalion's Lieutenant Colonel Norman Shipley ordered a withdrawal to a better position up a nearby ridge to reform their lines for another assault, and several angels would say

23:50later that that's where they should have been in the first place. But that's an argument for another day. Colonel Shipley also ordered Elmer Fryer's Easy Company to cover the battalion's extraction, but as dawn broke on December 8th, 1944, the paratroopers were woken up by Japanese machine guns that were firing over their heads. With bullets zipping through the trees, the paratroopers calmly considered it a normal morning bonsai attack. As one trooper declared, there was no call for anyone to do anything but

24:22sit in his foxhole and shoot along previously planned lanes of fire. Private Elmer Fryer, however, went above and beyond. He began by calling in mortar bombardments to break up the first bonsai charge, and then he began directing the platoon's machine guns. Now, because Fryer was directing the machine guns, some accounts mistakenly say that he was firing one himself, which he was not. He was using his own M1 Garand with deadly effect. Now, I'm not surprised by Fryer's actions up to this point. We have to remember that when he was a marine, he was assigned to the 1st Defense Battalion,

24:55whose sole purpose was to move into a location and defend it against enemy's attack using available resources. December 8th, 1944, was a day when marine and airborne training combined to make a tremendous difference. Now, during the firefight, one Easy Company sergeant was creased in the head by an enemy bullet, and he actually stood up and he was so dazed that he blindly started walking right towards the enemy lines. Now, Private Fryer saw this, and he jumped up from his position behind a fallen

25:28tree, and he ran through the enemy fire to grab this sergeant, and then he pulled him back, all while enemy snipers were trying to pick them both off. So, he pulled this sergeant down, and then he begins treating his wounds. So, Private Fryer bandaged the wounded angel's head, and then a medic came over and took over care. Now, when the enemy's first attack failed, partially because of the actions of Private Fryer, Easy Company continued their withdrawal back towards 2nd Battalion's position. The thing is, the Japanese decided to move at the same time. Badly wounded by an enemy grenade,

26:03Tech 5 Neil Rutherford of Wadsworth, Ohio, who was near Fryer when the Japanese first attacked. He said, Fryer was now on the extreme right, and he yelled and pointed out that the Japanese were trying a flanking movement. There were between 40 and 50 of them. So, with E Company partially withdrawn, Elmer knew that they were strung out, and the enemy movement could spell disaster. So, he quickly moved to the top of a nearby ridge by himself, and opened fire with his rifle. Now, we have to

26:36remember that Private Fryer had been competing in rifle competitions during his time in the Marines, and that his marksmanship skills were only elevated during all the stateside training he underwent with the 11th Airborne Division. One of the angels said that for every shot, there was a kill when Elmer rifle was on that ridge. No wonder General George S. Patton said that the M1 Garand was the greatest battle implement ever devised. F Company's Lieutenant Ralph Ermitinger agreed, saying,

27:06An enemy struck by the Garand's fast-traveling bullet went down as if struck by lightning, and the carnage affected on his body was appalling. Now, First Lieutenant Norvin Stinky Davis, I don't know where he got that nickname, nobody could remember, but Stinky Davis, he was there during the enemy's attack. He later testified that around the position where Private Fryer had engaged the flanking attack, we found the bodies of 26 Japanese he had killed, and evidence that the survivors had carried others away. Now, Lieutenant Davis actually at another time said

27:3927. So, at the end of the day, it is possible that Private Elmer Fryer would have eliminated 26 or 27 of the enemy with his rifle alone. We'll come back to that in just a second. This is a war bond drive comic that appeared in newspapers across the country in August of 1945 that portrays Elmer Fryer's actions that December morning. Now, other newspapers across the nation said that Fryer fired fast and accurately, but he was drawing all the enemy fire on himself. Remember, he was alone on the ridge.

28:12So, during the fight, he was actually wounded in the left arm, kind of towards the shoulders. So, he actually had a tattoo on his lower left arm. But even though he was wounded, Fryer didn't stop firing. So, going back to Tech 5 Rutherford's account, he said that Fryer took up his position to cover the withdrawal of the rest of the company. And he said there was a lot of firing, and as soon as Private Fryer came back and found me, he put a tourniquet on my arm and leg while the lead was flying all around us. Elmer said he got plenty of the flanking Japanese, about half of them anyway.

28:48Now, remember, Neil Rutherford was from Wadsworth, Ohio. And again, Elmer Fryer had spent time in Atta, Ohio. So, I'm sure that at some point, these two got together before combat started to discuss the Buckeye State. Rutherford said that after Elmer had patched up his wounds the best he could, Private Fryer helped Neil to his feet, and they began heading down the trail to join the rest of the company. And that's where they actually ran into Lieutenant Marvin Davis, who was helping another wounded angel down the trail. Now, First Lieutenant Davis was a West Point graduate, and he was from

29:23Wells, Nevada. And he had just taken over Fryer's platoon during the attack after Second Lieutenant Robert Norris was killed. The man that Lieutenant Davis was helping was actually Private First Class Marvin Douglas of Oakville, Tennessee. You know, he said that he had been nicked by a .25 caliber Japanese bullet, and that Lieutenant Davis was helping him down the trail. And he said that as we helped each other down the trail, a Japanese jumped up from behind some bushes and aimed his rifle at the lieutenant. The other wounded man, again, Neil Rutherford, and I hit the ground. So Rutherford

29:58and Douglas hit the ground. But Private Fryer moved past us and threw himself in front of Lieutenant Davis. So let's review. When the enemy attacked, Private Fryer immediately began calling in mortar fire and directing the platoon's machine guns. When one of the sergeants gets hit in the head and stumbles towards the enemy lines, Elmer Fryer stands up in the firefight, runs out and grabs the sergeant, brings him back, and then begins bandaging his wounds until the medic takes over. Then when a

30:29group of 40 to 50 Japanese move to flank the withdrawing company, Elmer Fryer moves on his own to attack them with his rifle and takes out 26 or possibly 27 of them. He then comes back to help his wounded comrade, Neil Rutherford. And while he was wounded himself, the two make their way down the trail, run into Lieutenant Davis and PFC Douglas. This is when the Japanese sniper jumps out of the bushes and aims his rifle right at the chest of Lieutenant Davis. Douglas and Rutherford hit the ground. Davis

31:05says, I had no chance to move. Private Elmer Fryer comes up from behind the lieutenant and stands in front of him and takes the full burst right in the chest and the stomach. Lieutenant Davis said, there were seven bullet holes in his chest and stomach. But Elmer drew a hand grenade as he fell to the ground and pulled the pin. He threw it and the Japanese was blasted all over the trail. Again, this would be the 26th or potentially the 27th enemy that Private Fryer had killed that day. However, that number could easily be doubled when you

31:39factor in his actions in calling in the mortar bombardments and directing the machine gunners during the bonsai charges. We also have no way of knowing how many of the Japanese that Elmer wounded later died of those wounds. Lieutenant Davis added, Elmer died before aid could be brought to him. But as he lay there with a smile on his face, he asked us to write to his folks and tell them that he got a mess of Japanese before they got him. The final words of this former Marine turned paratrooper were actually, tell my family

32:12that I got a mess of Japs before I went out. And he said it with a smile, knowing that he was dying.

Elmer Friar's Final Moments

32:19During his 1981 inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan said, those who say we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look. Private Elmer Fryer was truly a hero whose example of courage and sacrifice are inspiring. Wilcox would say years later that if not for the actions of Private Elmer Fryer on December 8th, he said, I think the whole battalion could have been wiped out. Elmer's comrades never forgot the courage of the Marine turned paratrooper who held the line alone,

32:52then gave his life to protect his commanding officer. He truly lived up to the Marine's motto of Semper Fidelis, always faithful. After the battered yet victorious angels came down from the mountains on Christmas of 1944, a detail was sent back into the mountains to recover their fallen. Unfortunately, none of those angels who participated in the detail are still with us, and Elmer Fryer's remains were either never recovered or have yet to be identified. At the time of this video, his status with the Defense POW MIA Accounting Agency is still

33:27missing in action, but of course he is a priority for identification. As such, Private Elmer Fryer is currently listed with over 35,000 of his comrades on the tablets of the missing at the Manila American Cemetery. That cemetery is situated on the very grounds that Elmer's fellow angels, including Easy Company, would liberate three months after his death when the angels helped retake Fort William McKinley and Manila itself. Now the decision to put Elmer Fryer in for the Medal of Honor happened very quickly,

34:01and it was sent up to Major General Swing, who approved and forwarded the packet on for consideration. And in the end, Elmer's Medal of Honor was presented to his parents on May 12, 1945, at the Denver Civic Center during a special 3 p.m. ceremony by Major General Clarence Danielson, who commanded America's 7th Service Command.

34:25Elmer's father George said that his son always loved adventure, and he was probably having the time of his life before he was killed on Leyte. Now I mentioned earlier that I visited Elmer's old hometown of Lakewood, Colorado, and I was able to visit the graves of his parents, George and Martha, to pay my respects. The cemetery recently put a memorial plaque by Elmer's parents to commemorate his sacrifice. Of note, George Fryer outlived his son by nearly 30 years. He died in 1973 at the ripe old

34:58age of 88. Elmer Fryer's fellow angels never forgot his valor. On July 19, 1945, the 11th Airborne participated in a review for 6th Army's General Walter Kruger. Numerous medals were presented, including the announcement of the two medals of honor for Elmer Fryer, Manuel Perez, whose story I will tell in a future video. While the 11th Airborne Division was in Japan for occupation duty, on May 3, 1947, they dedicated their new movie theater, the Elmer Fryer Theater. After the Angels came back home to the

35:33States in 1948, the 11th Airborne dedicated Fort Campbell's Fryer Athletic Field on October 27, 1950. When the 11th Airborne gyroscoped over to Germany in 1956, they renamed a street in Stadtsburgh in Germany, Fryer Circle, known today as the Elmer Fryer Ring. This street was actually lined with housing used by American officers stationed in the area. And today, the Fryer Field drop zone at Fort Benning, I mean, sorry, Fort Moore, is named for the angel who stood immovable and made the ultimate sacrifice.

36:08I wonder how many paratroopers have dropped on Fryer Field without even knowing the full story of Private Elmer Fryer. There is also the Elmer Fryer U.S. Reserve Center in Denver, Colorado, Elmer's hometown. And then on June 8, 2023, our reactivated 11th Airborne Division dedicated the Fryer Fitness Complex at Fort Wainwright. Now, this is a beautiful facility where our modern Arctic Angels and their families can go work out, go swimming, running, and just enjoy fitness classes and so forth. These memorials help us remember the service of Private Elmer Fryer, but it is up to us

36:44to live worthy of his sacrifice. One of Elmer's division comrades, Kenneth A. Murphy, wrote, With the passing of time, it is so easy to forget those who sacrificed so much so future generations may be free to enjoy this great country, the United States of America. Thinking of all his fellow angels like Elmer Fryer who gave their last full measure of devotion, regimental headquarters Jack O'Connor prayed, Dear Lord, I hope that this current generation of young Americans will someday

37:16be worthy of the generation of young people who saved my country and kept it free. So thank you for joining me today for the story of Private Elmer Fryer. If you'd like to learn more about Private Fryer and the 11th Airborne Division in World War II, please pick up a copy of our books, When Angels Fall, the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II, as well as Down from Heaven, Volumes 1 and 2. Be sure to visit our online store for other 11th Airborne Division merch at 11thairborne.com forward slash store. There you can pick up one of our wildly popular 11th Airborne

37:49challenge coins, which serve to honor all the angels, including Private Elmer Fryer. As always, down from heaven comes 11. Airborne all the way. Can I see you later?

38:17Can I see you later? Thank you.