Oldest Medal of Honor recipient dies at 98 in Oregon

Bob Maxwell, the nation’s oldest recipient of the Medal of Honor, died this weekend at 98 in Bend, Ore., according to local newspaper The Bulletin.

Maxwell received the nation’s highest military decoration for a 1944 incident during his service in World War II when he threw himself on a grenade that was thrown into the midst of his unit in Besancon, France, saving several lives. Maxwell had thrown a blanket over the grenade before jumping on it, which kept the blast from killing him, The Bulletin reported.

{mosads}Maxwell, a Quaker who declined conscientious objector status, also received Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts, the French Croix de Guerre and a Bronze Star for his service.

“I was honored to call Bob Maxwell a friend,” Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said Monday. “Bob’s legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone he interacted with and will forever be cherished in the country that he sacrificed so much to protect.”

“I’m in awe of, and grateful for, his service to our nation,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) said of Maxwell, calling him “a true hero.”

At the time of his death of reportedly natural causes, Maxwell had moved into Partners in Care Hospice in Bend, according to the Bulletin. He will reportedly be buried next to his late wife Beatrice in Terrebonne Cemetery.