Matt Urban
| Matt Louis Urban | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "The Ghost" |
| Born |
August 25, 1919 Buffalo, New York |
| Died | March 4, 1995 (aged 75) Holland, Michigan |
| Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941-1946 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant colonel
|
| Unit | 9th Infantry Division |
| Commands held |
|
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
Matt Louis Urban (August 25, 1919 – March 4, 1995) was an American and United States Army lieutenant colonel. He is one of the most decorated infantry officers who had been awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty in World War II. He performed valiantly in combat on many occasions despite being wounded in action several times.
Urban received over a dozen individual decorations for combat from the U.S. Army, including seven Purple Hearts. In 1980, he received the Medal of Honor and four other individual decorations for combat belatedly for his actions in France and Belgium in 1944. In Section 7a of the "Prominent Military Figures" portion of Arlington National Cemetery's webpage, there is the statement, "Lt. Col. Matt Urban - World War II infantry officer who earned the distinction as the most decorated soldier in WW II".
Matt Urban was born Matthew Louis Urbanowicz in Buffalo, New York. His parents Stanley and Helen Urbanowicz (Urban) were Polish immigrants. Urban was baptized at Corpus Christi Church and attended Buffalo East High School. He had three brothers, Stanley (Urbanowicz) Urban, Arthur (Urbanowicz) Urban, and a younger brother Eugene who died in 1927 from appendicitis. His father was a plumbing contractor.
In the 1940 Census, Matt was living with the family home at 1153 Broadway. He completed three years of college under the name of Matthew Urbanowicz. Urban majored in history and government with a minor in community recreation at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and graduated on June 14, 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts degree using the name Matty L. Urbanowitz. While at Cornell University, he was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and the track and boxing teams .
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