Our Arklahoma Heritage: Medal of Honor winner Whitt Lloyd Moreland was laid to rest in Montgomery County
- Dennis McCaslin
- Jul 5, 2025
- 2 min read
Beneath the wide oak shade of Whittington Cemetery in Mount Ida, a modest headstone marks the final resting place of Private First Class Whitt Lloyd Moreland, a young Marine whose extraordinary courage during the Korean War earned him the nation’s highest military honor.
Born on March 7, 1930, in Waco, Texas, Moreland grew up in Austin and graduated from Junction High School in 1948, where he played football and ran track. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps later that year, serving at Camp Pendleton before joining the Marine Corps Reserve.
When war broke out in Korea, he was called back to active duty in November 1950.
On May 29, 1951, during a fierce assault near Kwagch’i-Dong, Korea, Moreland served as an intelligence scout with Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
After helping secure a hilltop position, he spotted an enemy bunker 400 meters ahead and led a small party to neutralize it. As they advanced through a fire-swept ridge, enemy forces launched a volley of grenades. Moreland kicked several away, but slipped near one that was about to detonate.
In a final act of valor, he shouted a warning to his comrades and threw himself on the grenade, sacrificing his life to save others.
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He was just 21 years old.
In August 1952, his family received the Medal of Honor in a dual ceremony—one held at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, and another at his gravesite in Mount Ida, Arkansas, led by Lt. Governor Nathan Gordon, himself a Medal of Honor recipient. Moreland’s grave lies beside his parents, Lloyd Wood Moreland and Patsy Ann Whittington Moreland.
Whitt Lloyd Moreland was buried in Whittington Cemetery in Montgomery County because it was his mother’s family burial ground. His mother, Patsy Whittington Moreland, had deep roots in the area, and the cemetery itself is named after her family.
Moreland’s story is etched not only in stone but in the hearts of those who honor sacrifice. His name appears on the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and a monument in Llano, Texas, stands in tribute to his bravery.
🕊️ “He gallantly gave his life for his country.” — President Harry S. Truman
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