The heroism of Emporia native and Medal of Honor recipient Grant Timmerman has been recognized by Wreaths Across America.
Wreaths has a Medal of Honor Monday social media post, and the July 21 version highlighted Timmerman’s ultimate sacrifice in the Mariana Islands on July 8, 1944. Timmerman, a sergeant in the US Marines Second Battalion, Sixth Marines, Second Division, was driving his tank slightly ahead of nearby infantry to support an attack. Timmerman used an “antiaircraft sky-mount machine gun” before a series of trenches and pillboxes halted the tank. Timmerman stood up in the exposed turret and told infantry to get to ground. An enemy grenade was aimed at the open turret hatch, but Timmerman blocked it with his body. The resulting explosion killed him.
Wreaths Across America says Timmerman’s “exceptional valor and loyalty in saving his men at the cost of his own life reflect the highest credit upon Sgt. Timmerman and the U.S. Naval Service.”
Timmerman is laid to rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Wreaths Across America local coordinator Scott Burenheide says there will be a special wreath placed at his memorial site inside Emporia’s All Veterans Memorial this year. Burenheide will also discuss the Timmerman honors and other activities for the 2025 Wreaths Across America ceremonies in December during KVOE’s Talk of Emporia on Aug. 5.
