Floyd P. Marquart
Private First Class, U.S. Army

On 29 Decenber 1944, Private First Class Floyd P. Marquart was serving as a Medical Aidman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Third U.S. Army.

On that day, PFC Marquart’s unit was in action against German forces near Longchamps, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, when an attacking soldier of the 502nd was struck in the throat by a shell fragment and was near death from suffocation. PFC Marquart quickly made his way under intense German fire to where the wounded soldier lay and there, in a few critical seconds, calmly performed a delicate surgical operation on the man's throat with his belt knife and ingeniously inserted a piece of his thermometer case in the opening to allow breathing. Still under fire, PFC Marquart dragged the wounded man 75 yards across an open field to a position from which he could be evacuated. PFC Marquart’s skill, selfless, courageous actions and extraordinary heroism that day earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Private First Class Marquart was killed in action on 13 January 1945 while giving aid to another wounded soldier on the battlefield, but his heroism lived on as a constant inspiration to his comrades.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star Medal
Purple Heart with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Pin and 3 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
Croix de Guerre with Palm (France)
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Presidential Unit Citation with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Combat Medical Badge
Parachutist Badge with 2 Combat Jump Stars

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

Burial

Private First Class Floyd P. Marquart is buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm, Canton de Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, in Plot E, Row 16, Grave 48.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55882985/floyd-p-marquart