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Contact Info
Home Town Clinton, Washington
Last Address Vancouver, Washington
Date of Passing Nov 28, 1979
Location of Interment Willamette National Cemetery (VA) - Portland, Oregon
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Served as a First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. Near Altavilla, Italy, September 13, 1943, when his company attacked a German position he led his platoon forward on the right flank hill where it got pinned down by a heavy of machinegun and rifle fire. Ordering his men to give covering fire, with 3 hand grenades, he crept and crawled forward to a German machinegun position located in a terrace along the forward slope. Approaching within a few yards of the position, and exposed to enemy fire, he hurled 1 grenade into the nest, destroyed the gun and killed 3 Germans. Discovering a second machinegun 20 yards to the right on a higher terrace, he moved under enemy fire to within a few yards and threw a second grenade into this position, destroying it and killing 2 more Germans. His platoon was then able to advance 150 yards further up the crest of the hill, but was again stopped by enemy mortar fire on the reverse slope. He located the mortar position and worked his way to within 10 yards of its position and threw his third grenade, destroying the mortar, killing 2 of the Germans, and forcing the remaining 3 to flee. His actions permitted the platoon to take its objective.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Sicily Campaign (1943)
From Month/Year
July / 1943
To Month/Year
August / 1943
Description (Sicily Campaign 9 July to 17 August 1943) In preparation for the invasion of Sicily the Allies captured the islands in the Sicilian strait, with aerial bombardment forcing the capitulation of Pantelleria on 11 June 1943. By that time Allied air power had begun the attack on Sicily by bombing defenses and airfields. The invasion itself got under way on the night of 9/10 July with airborne landings that were followed the next day by an amphibious assault. The enemy offered strong resistance, but the Allies had superiority in the air and soon had planes operating from Sicilian bases to support Montgomery’s Eighth Army and Patton’s Seventh.
Interdictory operations against communications in Italy and between Italy and Sicily convinced the enemy that it would be impossible to move strong reinforcements. By 17 August 1943 the Allies were in possession of the island, but they had not been able to prevent a German evacuation across the Strait of Messina.