Hometown Heroes of WWII
Maynard: Awarded Bronze Star
By Michael Rocchetti
Henry Phillip Maynard (1910-1991) was a U.S. Army soldier who served in combat with distinction in some of the most inhospitable jungles of the Southwest Pacific during WWII.
He was awarded The Bronze Star medal for action against the enemy at New Georgia in the Solomon Islands, from July 6 to 14 and July 21 to Aug. 1, 1943.
The citation accompanying the award, signed by Brigadier General Harold R Barker, and Lieutenant General M. F. Harmon, of the 43rd Infantry Division reads in part: “Stationed as a liaison sergeant, you made frequent trips through enemy occupied territory to isolated front line battalions when communications were cut off. Later, you were posted in the capacity of an officer at a forward observation point, and on August 13th and 14th, in the absence of an officer, you directed fire at enemy installations on Baanga Island. Your conduct and acceptance of responsibility were outstanding.”
He was assigned to Battery A, 169th Field Artillery Battalion, 43rd Infantry Division, where he reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. The 43rd Infantry Division consisted mostly of men from New England, unaccustomed to the hot, humid tropical weather and the swampy, dense jungles of the Southwest Pacific Islands where they were deployed in 1942. Maynard adapted quickly to this in action at Guadalcanal, New Georgia, New Guinea and in the Philippines at the Lingayen Gulf and Luzon.
Maynard was born in Putnam Oct. 10, 1910, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur J. Maynard. He was a college graduate, working as a commercial artist in Providence when he enlisted in the Army on Feb. 24, 1941. He was discharged from the Army July 22, 1945 and returned to Putnam. He died Oct. 20, 1991, and is buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Putnam.
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.