Billie G. Kanell

Billie Gene Kanell (June 26, 1931 – September 7, 1951) was a United States Army soldier in the Korean War who was posthumously awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. He was awarded the medal for twice falling on a grenade to protect his fellow soldiers during a 1951 battle.

Biography Born on June 26, 1931, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Kanell later joined the United States Army from that city. By September 7, 1951, he was serving in Korea as a private in Company I of the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On that day, near Pyonggang, his unit was attacked by a numerically superior force. When a grenade was thrown into his emplacement, he smothered the blast with his body to protect two nearby soldiers. Although severely wounded in the explosion, he used his body to shield his comrades from another grenade which was thrown seconds later. Mortally wounded in this act, Kanell was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor nine months later, on June 13, 1952.