World War II hero Phil Larimore remains the youngest candidate to ever graduate from Army Officer Training School, which he did at the age of seventeen, on the eve of America’s involvement in World War II. Landing on the Anzio beachhead in February 1944, Phil – the youngest commissioned US officer in World War II – was put in charge of an Ammunition Pioneer Platoon of the 3rd Infantry Division. Their job: to deliver ammunition to the frontline foxholes—a dangerous assignment involving regular forays into No Man’s Land. As Phil fought his way up the Italian boot, into Southern France and across the Rhine River into Germany, he experienced some of the most intense combat ever. But it was what happened in the final stages of the war, when Phil was sent on a secret mission into Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to find the farm where Hitler was hiding his world-famous Lipizzaner stallions that makes his story incredibly special and is  the ultimate expression of Phil Larimore’s life-long love of horses. 

Like so many veterans of that “greatest generation,” Phil didn’t talk much about his war experiences until much later in life, and when he did his stories seemed outrageous to his family and his sons. After his death, his son and our guest Dr. Walt Larimore discovered his father’s papers in the attic—and learned that his father’s stories were all true. 

In this episode, Dr. Larimore describes his father’s remarkable service to his country, including meeting Eisenhower, losing his leg, fighting to stay in the army, and being awarded  the Distinguished Service Cross, two silver stars, two bronze stars, three Purple Hearts, the Medal of France, the Crois du Garde with a palm, and more. All of this and more is described in Dr. Walt Larimore’s remarkable book At First Light.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
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