For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. On 8 November 1942, near Port Lyautey, French Morocco, Lt. Col Hamilton volunteered to accompany Col. Demas Craw on a dangerous mission to the French commander, designed to bring about a cessation of hostilities. Driven away from the mouth of the Sebou River by heavy shelling from all sides, the landing boat was finally beached at Mehdia Plage despite continuous machinegun fire from 3 low-flying hostile planes. Driven in a light truck toward French headquarters, this courageous mission encountered intermittent firing, and as it neared Port Lyautey a heavy burst of machinegun fire was delivered upon the truck from pointblank range, killing Col. Craw instantly. Although captured immediately after this incident, Lt. Col. Hamilton completed the mission.

Pierpont Hamilton, a direct desendant of Alexander Hamilton, left Harvard College and enlisted as an aviation cadet on August 7, 1917. He was discharged on Dec 31, 1918 as a Captain. He reentered the Army Air Corps in March 1942 as a Major; was released in March 1946 only to return for the Korean War as a Brigadier General. He left active duty in 1952 but stayed in the Reserves and retired in 1959 as a Major General. He died in 1982 and is buried in Santa Barbara, CA. This information was acquired through the Santa Barbara Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation whose’s motto is “Never Forgotton.”