William Keith Holmes was born in Georgia to William Keith Holmes and Myrtle Agate Kerr. He was married with Nancy Pearl Johnson.
William Homes was returned from Blosville-Carentan.
The Chattanooga Times, January 17, 1945
Pfc. William Keith Holmes, 28, husband of the former Miss Nancy Johnson of Flintstone, Ga., and the son of Mrs. W.K. Holmes Sr. of East 18th Street was killed in action in the European theater on December 25. Pfc. Holmes entered the service in December, 1942 and served with the military police detachment at Fort Benning, Ga., until last summer, when he was transferred to the infantry. He went overseas last November. Before entering the army he was employed at the Volunteer Ordnance Works here. He was the brother of Mrs. Martha Stanfield, Mrs. W.M. Hill, Mrs. F.H. Sewell, all of Chattanooga, and of Mrs. R.M. Meadows of Shannon, Ga., and Mrs. Hayes Brewer, Dayton, Tenn.
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 23 May 1948
PFc. Holmes was awarded the Soldier’s Medal with the following citation: “The Soldier’s Medal has been posthumously awarded to Pfc. William K. Holmes for heroism not involved actual conflict with an enemy on 24 December 1944, in the English Channel. When the Troopship on which he was a passenger was torpedoed or mined, Pfc. Holmes with two other enlisted men, went down into a wrecked compartment to help the men trapped there. He assisted in bringing one men out and then with utter disregard for personal safety, returned to the flooded compartment and cleared wreckage from the stairway so that anyone who might be alive could get out. He assisted in bringing two more injured men from the compartment. When the ship began to sink very fast, Pfc. Holmes remained by the rail and forced men over the side of the ship until the deck on which he was standing was submerged. Pfc. Holmes was killed int his act. His fearless action and devotion to duty contributed greatly to saving many lives and were an inspiration to all.”
- Rank: Private First Class
- Date of birth: 8 November 1916
- Date of death: 25 December 1944
- County: Hamilton
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: Infantry
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Soldier's Medal
- Burial/Memorial Location: Chattanooga National Cemetery, Chattanooga, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XII, Top Panel
- Contact us to sponsor William K. Holmes
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