Matt Urban
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Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban was a graduate of Cornell University when he joined the Army in 1941 as a commissioned officer. He served with the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division in North Africa. Urban also fought in Sicily, France, and Belgium. He broke a leg during the landing on the beach at Normandy, but still managed to mount a tank and lead an assault. On June 14, he personally destroyed two enemy tanks with a bazooka. He was wounded twice that day. In July, Urban left the hospital where he was recovering and joined his unit at St. Lo, France, for Operation Cobra. There, Urban single-handedly drove an abandoned American tank into a German unit, leading his men to victory. Urban was wounded seven or eight times during the war. The final time, he was shot in the neck and was not expected to survive. Yet he did. Urban’s recommendation for a Medal of Honor was lost when his commanding officer was killed in action. It was not found until 1979. Urban finally received his Medal of Honor in 1980 from President Jimmy Carter.