William D. Halyburton Jr.

The USS Halyburton (FFG-40), a guided missile frigate commissioned on January 4, 1984, was named in his honor. A number of other military structures have been named for him, including Halyburton Quarters in Charleston, South Carolina; a road at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; and a barracks at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

On April 1, 1945, Halyburton landed with the 5th Marines on Okinawa. On May 10, 1945, Halyburton was serving with a Marine rifle company against the Japanese on Okinawa when they suffered numerous casualties after advancing into Awacha Draw. Exposed to enemy fire, he rushed to aid a fallen Marine the furthest away. Shielding the man with his own body while administering aid, Halyburton was mortally wounded. For this action, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was one of two people from Haywood County, North Carolina, to receive the medal in World War II, the other being Max Thompson.

He completed recruit training at the United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, Maryland, and was promoted to seaman second class in the fall. Remaining in the area, he attended the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps School and was rated a pharmacist's mate third class upon graduation. He studied at other training centers and was advanced to pharmacist's mate second class on August 1, 1944. After completing the Fleet Marine Force Field Medical Service School at Camp Pendleton, California for combat field training, he departed on December 14 for the Pacific war zone on board the transport USS General M. M. Patrick and joined the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.

William David Halyburton Jr. (October 2, 1924 – May 10, 1945) was a United States Navy hospital corpsman who was killed in action during World War II while assigned to a Marine Corps rifle company. He was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" on May 10, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa.

Born on August 2, 1924, in Canton, North Carolina, Halyburton attended Canton Presbyterian Church before moving to Wilmington, North Carolina where he graduated from New Hanover High School. He entered seminary at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, but left to enlist in the U.S. Naval Reserve on August 4, 1943.