Veteran’s Day is a time to honor and thank all who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Marshfield’s Military and National Guard units began in May 1889 and the city was less than two decades old when the community formed a company of militia consisting of 23 men.
A veteran of World War I, Willard D Purdy is a Marshfield hero who served in the army as a member of Co. A, 127th infantry. Stationed in France, Purdy sacrificed his life for his fellow men in arms
On July 4, 1918, Purdy and his comrades returned from a patrol of “no man’s land,” where he was in charge of a party of raiders bombing the German trenches. While removing their hand grenades, Purdy accidentally pulled the igniter on one of his three grenades. Knowing he had just seconds before the grenade exploded and killed everyone nearby, Purdy yelled for his men to run for safety. Bending over the grenade, Purdy absorbed the explosion with his own body, saving everyone else from death, and most from severe injury.
At the young age of 23, Purdy became a hero. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). His body was buried with military honors at Alsace, where it rested until it was unburied and sent home for burial in May 1921. He was reburied in Marshfield on Memorial Day. Also in honor of his bravery and self-sacrifice, the City of Marshfield named the Junior High and Vocational School building the “Willard D. Purdy School”.
