U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Matt Louis Urban (born Matthew Louis Urbanowicz) of Buffalo, New York, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions from June 14, 1944, to September 3, 1944, in France and Belgium.
Urban was one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. Urban performed valiantly in combat on many occasions despite being wounded in action several times.
He received over a dozen personal decorations for combat from the U.S. Army, including seven Purple Hearts. In 1980, he received the Medal of Honor, three other U.S. decorations, and one foreign decoration for his actions in France and Belgium in 1944.
On July 10, 1980, Urban was notified by the White House that he was a Medal of Honor recipient, and the next day was told that the Medal of Honor award ceremony would be on July 19.
On July 18, Urban was presented the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with "V" device (second oak leaf cluster) and his seventh Purple Heart (sixth oak leaf cluster), by Army Chief of Staff Edward C. Meyer, during a ceremony at the Pentagon.
At a ceremony at the French Embassy, he was also presented the Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star. The citation for the medal, which was not personally awarded to Urban before this, was signed by General Charles de Gaulle in June 1944.
On July 19, President Jimmy Carter presented Urban the Medal of Honor in front of several hundred guests, which included fellow 9th Infantry Division veterans who had served with Urban in combat.
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