Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

WW2 category: Medal of Honor - Stories of the most decorated Heroes  -- See latest WWII news here.
See also 'D-Day tours',   'Radio Controlled tanks',   'Helmets',   'Nazi SS Daggers',   'WW2 Militaria',   'Vintage Military Vehicles',   'American Tanks in WWII',   'Bastogne'.

Medal of Honor winner Russell Dunham eliminated 3 German machine-gun emplacements     twincities.com :: 2009-04-10
WW2 Army veteran Russell Dunham, of the 3rd Infantry Division, won the Medal of Honor after he took out 3 German machine-gun emplacements, killed 9 soldiers and took 2 POWs in 1945. Heavily armed, he moved 75 yards up a snow-covered hill toward 3 German machine-guns. He took out the first bunker with a grenade. Advancing toward the second, he glanced around to call up his squad and a bullet hit him in the back. As he struggled to his feet, a grenade landed nearby but he kicked it away. He then crawled to the second machine gun and threw his grenade into the bunker. In pain he ran 50 yards to the third machine-gun and took it out with a grenade.    

WWII Marine pilot was granted Medal of Honor for knocking 7 dive bombers in 15 minutes     washingtonpost.com :: 2009-01-23
James E. Swett was a Marine Corps ace who got the Medal of Honor for knocking seven Japanese dive bombers out of the air in 15 minutes. He was a first lieutenant and division leader in the Solomon Islands area of the South Pacific during World War Two when he was granted the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for heroism. As part of the Guadalcanal campaign, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had ordered a daylight offensive with 150 Japanese aircraft. The Allies had about half that number of planes. Leading his division of 4 Wildcat planes April 7, 1943, Swett saw 20 lightly armored Japanese Val (Aichi D3A) dive bombers trying to target Allied ships.    

Medal of Honor winner Robert B. Nett: Hand-to-hand fighting with Japanese soldiers     nytimes.com :: 2008-10-21
Col. Robert B. Nett, the last of 5 Medal of Honor winners in Columbus, passed away. He enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard in 1940 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1942. Nett earned the America's highest military award for valor on Dec. 14, 1944, for his actions during hand-to-hand fighting with Japanese soldiers at their heavily fortified stronghold on the west coast of Leyte. The commander of E Company, 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division, he led the attack, killing 7 Japanese soldiers with his rifle and bayonet. Though he was badly wounded 3 times during the attack, he was later able to rejoin his company.    

Leon Johnson's Medal of Honor donated to the Army Heritage Museum of Carlisle     columbiatribune.com :: 2008-10-17
On Aug. 1, 1943 Leon Johnson - who entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at age 17 and would wear the military uniform most of his life - led one of the most strategically vital bombing raids of World War II. Flying at treetop level over Nazi-occupied Romania, his 44th Bomb Group delivered 1,000-pound bombs on the oil refinery that fueled much of Nazi Germany's mechanized power. The bombers left the refineries in the Ploesti oil fields in an inferno of 1,500-foot flames and badly undercut the Germans' ability to make war from that point forward. It was such an amazing mission that 5 leaders of different groups won the Medal of Honor.    

Medal of Honor winner Michael Daly: The heroes are those who gave their lives     courant.com :: 2008-07-28
Michael J. Daly who was granted the Medal of Honor by President Truman for heroism as a 20-year-old lieutenant in World War II has passed away at 83. On April 18, 1945, he engaged in 4 single-handed firefights to defend his men, killing 15 Germans, silencing 3 enemy machine guns and eliminating an entire enemy patrol. During the Second World War, which he entered as an 18-year-old private after leaving West Point, Daly was also awarded 3 Silver Stars, 2 Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with "V" for acts of bravery. "I'm no hero. The heroes are those who gave their lives," he often said.    

John Finn, the first Medal of Honor Winner in World War II, turns 99     10news.com :: 2008-07-27
John Finn, who now is not only the first recipient in the Second World War to be granted the Medal of Honor, but at age 99, he is the oldest winner of the military's highest award. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they first came over Kaneoe Bay. Finn found whatever weapon he could find to fight back despite being wounded 21 times. "There's only a 104 of us left to be in the presence of this guy... he's a legend. He still has residual wounds for that action. He is remarkable," said Medal of Honor recipient Jay Vargas.    

Medal of Honor winner Alton Knappenberger - "One man army"     washingtonpost.com :: 2008-06-14
Alton W. Knappenberger, who got the America's highest military medal during World War II, passed away at the age 84. Pfc. Knappenberger -- an Army draftee in Company C, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division -- was granted the Medal of Honor for acting with "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in his first and only combat experience after the Allied landing at Anzio, Italy, in 1944. He picked up a Browning automatic rifle, ran alone to a knoll and held off a German attack for over 2 hours near Cisterna di Latina, 30 miles from Nazi-held Rome, on Feb. 1, 1944. The field was filled with 60 German dead.    

World War II veteran Jack Lucas who earned Medal of Honor at 17 dies     nytimes.com :: 2008-06-06
Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during WWII and became the youngest Marine to get the Medal of Honor, died at 80. Jacklyn "Jack" Lucas was just 6 days past his 17th birthday in Feb. 1945 when his valour at Iwo Jima earned him the America's highest military honor. He used his body to shield 3 fellow squad members from 2 grenades, and was almost killed when one detonated. "A couple of grenades rolled into the trench. I hollered to my pals to get out and did a Superman dive at the grenades. I wasn't a Superman after I got hit. I let out one helluva scream when that thing went off."    

Medal of Honor hero Jose Lopez - Facing German Tiger tank     themonitor :: 2008-05-26
On Dec. 16, 1944, the Wehrmacht started its last major attack, the Ardennes offensive, hoping to divide the American and British armies. Fate had placed Jose Lopez in the centre of history. In the morning, he heard the rumbling of a diesel engine. "Jose was horrified; it was a tank - a German tank - and not just a normal tank - it was a German Tiger tank. Initially, Jose was frozen in fear... He thought about his 38 buddies a quarter mile further down the road. He also thought about his wife and two children... Manning a machine gun, Lopez gunned down 10 advancing Germans behind the Tiger tank..."    

43 Medal of Honor recipients gather     venturacountystar :: 2008-02-12
Nicholas Oresko was one of 43 Medal of Honor winners who attended a gala dinner and ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. At 91, Oresko was one of the oldest living medal recipients attending. In Jan. 1945 he was serving as an Army master sergeant with Company C at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II near Tettington, Nazi Germany. His unit was attacked by enemy fire, but despite being struck by bullets himself, he killed 12 Germans with an attack on 2 bunkers. "Our job was to push the Germans back. After the second machine gun knocked me down, I knew I was going to die, so I was going to go all out."    

Restoration giving Chattanooga's Medal of Honor Museum an overhaul     wdef :: 2008-01-30
Chattanooga's Medal of Honor Museum's collection was badly damaged by water and mold in it's former storage facility. But, now those damaged items are being salvaged. World War II veteran Roberta McDevitt: "Handling these things brings back certain memories, some of them good, some of them bad." Thanks to numerous volunteer hours 250,000-300,000 items are being preserved one piece at a time. Director Patti Parks says through a pain-staking process 5% of the items have been cleaned and archived, so far. The militaria collection includes over 700 military uniforms, hundreds of medals, photos and personal items.    

WWII Medal of Honor winner shares his story - 100th Infantry Division     publicradio :: 2008-01-29
Only 32 Medal of Honor recipients are still alive. One of them is infantry soldier Mike Colalillo, who earned the medal during the last days of WW2. On April 7, 1945 his unit came under heavy fire, bullets and shells were flying all over. "We were all pinned down, we couldn't move. If you get up we'd get shot at. We lost a lot of men there... I jumped on the tank, and just hollered in the tank and told, 'I lost my gun and I'm going to use your machine gun on the top.' And that's when I started shooting all these positions where the Germans were." Out in the open on top of the battle tank, Colalillo rode into battle, firing the machine gun mounted on the turret.     [Legends & Heroes of World War II]

Jefferson DeBlanc, World War II fighter pilot with Medal of Honor     washingtonpost :: 2007-12-05
Jefferson J. DeBlanc, a WWII ace who was awarded the Medal of Honor for shooting down 5 Japanese planes on a single day while running out of fuel, passed away at 86. On Jan. 31, 1943, he took off from Guadalcanal in Wildcat fighter, leading a 6-plane section of Marine Fighting Squadron 112. They were tasked to protect dive bombers attacking Japanese ships near Kolombangara. He became dragged in a fierce air battle, and his fighter was using fuel at a rapid rate and he could have returned to his base, but he continued his attacks: "We needed all the guns we could get up there to escort those dive bombers... I figured I could survive a bailout."     [Medal of Honor - Stories of the most decorated Heroes]

Silvestre Herrera: Mexico-born Medal of Honor winner, dies at 90     tucsoncitizen.com :: 2007-11-28
Silvestre Herrera, the first Arizonan to win the Medal of Honor award during World War II, also had Mexico's highest honor for valor (the Premier Merito Militar), making him the only person to earn both. In 1945 he was granted the Medal of Honor for saving his platoon from machine-gun fire. The Army private first class with the 36th Infantry Division took out one emplacement, then charged through a minefield toward a second, losing both feet to explosions. The eight Germans manning the machine-gun nest threw down their weapons. "I was one of the lucky ones, to live to be awarded the Medal of Honor."    

Medal of Honor hero held off hundreds of Germans single-handedly     wistv :: 2007-11-07
World War II veteran Charles P. Murray held off hundreds of Germans single-handedly for over 6 hours. Then Army Lieutenant, he had only been company commander for 8 days. "It was the last area of France west of the Rhine river that was still in the hands of the Germans." Murray was leading his troops through the mountains when his lookout spotted something. "Then my radio went dead - cold, wet probably. I had no spare batteries." With no way to call for heavy artillery from the rear and fearing the Germans would annihilate his company, he ordered his fellow soldiers to scatter and he hunkered down. "I borrowed a rifle and some blank cartridges for the rifle..."    

Matt L. Urban: tied with Audie Murphy for the most decorations in WWII     hnn.us :: 2007-10-15
World War II hero Audie Murphy got his own U.S. stamp. Buffalo's most decorated war veteran Matt L. Urban should get a stamp too, say organizers of a petition drive. The Polish American Congress argues that Urban and Murphy - both U.S. Army veterans from WWII - are the two most decorated veterans from that war. Murphy's face was put on a stamp, and the group wants Urban to receive the same honor. As a lieutenant colonel in charge of an infantry battalion, Urban was shot 7 times, once in the throat. He was credited with killing 116 German soldiers from machine gun nest in one day. Urban received the Medal of Honor for several times risking his life beyond the call of duty.     [WWII Medals & Most decorated Soldiers]

Medal of Honor hero Pfc. John Reese sacrificed himself for comrades     tulsaworld :: 2007-10-04
Pfc. John N. Reese Jr was killed during a 2-man attack on more than 300 heavily armed and entrenched enemy soldiers in a 2-1/2-hour World War II battle for a Manila railroad station. He was hit by a sniper's bullet while reloading his rifle as he and Pfc. Cleto Rodriguez were crawling toward the American lines for more ammunition. Reese provided covering fire as his companion crawled away. "The intrepid team, in 2-1/2 hours of fierce fighting, killed more than 82 Japanese, disorganized their defense and paved the way for subsequent defeat of the enemy at this strong point," according to the citation awarding Reese the Medal of Honor.     [Legends & Heroes of World War II]

Medal of Honor for 82nd Airborne Division officer James Megellas     - :: 2007-02-14
No officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division is believed to be as highly decorated as James Megellas - a Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Stars, 2 Bronze Stars for valor and 2 Purple Hearts. But the men who served with him believe that even those medals don't tell the story of his exploits. There, at the top should hang a Medal of Honor. Toward the end of the Battle of the Bulge, Lt. Megellas' platoon had surprised 200 Germans. His men decimated the Germans' ranks and were preparing to attack the town when a German Mark V Panther battle tank took aim at them. He ran toward the tank, got close enough to throw a grenade at the track and disabled it.     [Medal of Honor - Stories of the most decorated Heroes]

Combat hero Dietz : Sherman tanks and panzerfaust squads     zwire :: 2006-05-29
Elements of the 38th Infantry Battalion, spearheading the 7th Armored Division, approached the town of Kirchain. GI Jankowski in Dietz's 12-man squad was aboard the third Sherman tank in a line when a German soldier "stood up and fired a bazooka at the lead tank. We all scrambled off the tanks. Then I saw Dietz running and firing into the foxholes. He was grabbing the mines and throwing them off the bridge. As he stood up to signal that the route was clear he was killed by an shot from the left flank." Medal of Honor citation credits Dietz with wiping out 3 two-man panzerfaust (bazooka) squads and leaping into the water to disconnect explosives wired to the bridge.     [Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War]

FBI agent: Medal of Honor impostors outnumber recipients     freeinternetpress.com :: 2006-04-30
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society reports there are 113 living recipients of the nation's highest military award, but an F-B-I agent says impostors outnumber the true heroes. Agent Tom Cottone says there are more and more of the impostors, and they are literally stealing the valor and acts of valor of the real guys. Some fakers merely brag about receiving the award - and that's not illegal - but some impostors wear military uniforms and bogus medals.     [Medal of Honor - Stories of the most decorated Heroes]

The only Medal of Honor recipient who refused to carry a weapon     militaryphotos.net :: 2006-03-25
The only conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor as a noncombatant in WWII has died. Desmond Doss Senior refused to carry a weapon during his wartime service as a medic. He was the subject of a 2004 documentary, "The Conscientious Objector," and a previously published book, "The Unlikeliest Hero. In 1945, Doss was invited to the White House to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman for his bravery on May 5th, 1945. The 24-year-old medic stayed atop a cliff on the island of Okinawa, lowering down soldiers under Japanese attack.     [Different wartime experiences]

The only Filipino soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor     thenewstoday :: 2006-03-11
During WWII, the only Filipino soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor was Sgt. Jose Calugas. His award reads: "For conspicuous gallantry and interpidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy at Culis, Bataan Province, Philippine Islands. When the battery gun position was shelled and bombed until one piece was out of action and casualties caused the removal of the remaining canoneers to shelter, Sergeant Calugas, voluntarily and on his own accord proceeded 1,000 yards across the shell-swept area to the gun position and joined the volunteer gun squad which fired effectively on the enemy."     [Pacific War - Allied powers]

See also:
'D-Day tours'
'Radio Controlled tanks'
'Helmets'
'Nazi SS Daggers'
'WW2 Militaria'
'Vintage Military Vehicles'
'American Tanks in WWII'
'Bastogne'.

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2009. All rights reserved.