Whitt Lloyd Moreland, a native Texan, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his extraordinary gallantry during the Korean War. Born on March 7, 1930, in Waco, Texas, he was the son of Lloyd W. Moreland and Patsy Whittington Moreland.
Hus father was a native Missourian, having been born in Kansas City in 1801. His Arkansas tie ran through his maternal side of the family as his mother was part of a pioneering family that settled within the state sometime around 1830.
The Whittington Cemetery, located in Mt. Ida in Montgomery County, is the final resting place of 44 individuals named Whittington and nearly 30 other kith and kin. Patsy Whittington lived with her parents two miles from Mt. Ida until she married in 1930 and moved to Texas with her husband.
The couple sought to have children later in their marriage after the birth of Whitt, but those pregnancies resulted in a set of still born twin in 1944 and the same result involving a male child in 1948.
Whitt's family frequently relocated within Texas due to construction work, but Moreland eventually attended high school in Austin and Junction City, where he excelled in track and field before graduating in 1948.
After briefly working at an Austin bank and a construction company, Moreland enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in September 1948. He served a year at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California, before being discharged and joining the Marine Corps Reserve.
Following the United States' entry into the Korean War, Moreland was recalled to active duty on November 30, 1950. Assigned as a Private First Class and Intelligence Scout to Company C, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, he was deployed to Korea.
On May 29, 1951, during an intense battle at Kwagch’i-Dong, Korea, Moreland demonstrated exceptional bravery. As Company C advanced against a strongly defended enemy hill position, Moreland delivered precise rifle fire that contributed to the marine assault's success.
He then led a party to neutralize an enemy bunker observed some 400 meters beyond their position. Moving through a fire-swept area, Moreland and his group nearly reached the hostile emplacement when the enemy launched a volley of hand grenades.
Acting swiftly despite the danger, Moreland kicked several grenades off the ridgeline, where they exploded harmlessly. While attempting to dispose of another grenade, he slipped and fell near the deadly missile.
Shouting a warning to his comrades, Moreland covered the grenade with his body, absorbing the full blast of the explosion and mortally wounding himself. His selfless actions saved his fellow marines from possible injury or death.
Moreland's remains were returned home and buried in the Whittington Cemetery, his mother's family burial ground near Mount Ida, Arkansas, on October 19, 1951.
For his heroism, Moreland was awarded the Medal of Honor in June 1952.
Dual ceremonies were held on August 4, 1952, to honor his memory. In Austin, Texas, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Edward Hickman and other dignitaries presented a large portrait of Moreland and the medal to his parents and sister during an elaborate ceremony at the Texas State Capitol, attended by over 1,000 people.
Simultaneously, a ceremony led by Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Nathan Gordon, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, took place at Moreland's grave in Whittington Cemetery.
During this ceremony, a floral arrangement shaped like the Medal of Honor was presented, the citation was read, and a prayer was offered in the presence of two marine sergeants serving as an honor guard.
