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Robert Dale Maxwell (born October 26, 1920) is a former United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II. With the death of Nicholas Oresko on October 4, 2013, Maxwell became the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. ==Biography== Born on October 26, 1920, in Boise, Idaho, Maxwell joined the Army from Larimer County, Colorado. He served overseas as a technician fifth grade with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Assigned as the battalion "wire man", he carried a heavy roll of cable and was tasked with stringing phone lines to the command post. He began the war armed with a M1 Garand rifle, but was later reclassified as a non-combatant and carried only a .45 caliber pistol.〔 With the 7th Infantry, Maxwell took part in the North African Campaign followed by the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, marching to Palermo and on to Messina. The unit then landed at Salerno shortly after the Allied invasion of mainland Italy and fought northwards to an area near Cassino. Wounded during the early stages of the subsequent Battle of Anzio in January 1944, Maxwell spent the next few months recovering at a hospital in Naples.〔 He rejoined his unit in time for the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) in August 1944 and the following advance inland.〔 On September 7, near Besançon in eastern France, Maxwell smothered the blast of an enemy hand grenade with his body to protect those around him. He survived his wounds and seven months later, on April 6, 1945, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.〔 From 1966 through 1986, Maxwell taught auto mechanics at Lane Community College, which named its student veterans center after Maxwell in 2012. He is also credited with helping to establish a similar program at Central Oregon Community College, and was honored in 1970 as one of 5,000 outstanding educators. Maxwell resides in Bend, Oregon, and is the only living Medal of Honor recipient in that state.〔 In 2000, at the age of 79, he received his High School Diploma from Bend Senior High. In 2012, he suffered a minor stroke, but recovered after only a few short days with only minor loss of functionality of his right hand. He continues as the director of the non-profit Bend Heroes Foundation.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert D. Maxwell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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