"Near Luchem, Germany, he volunteered to attempt the destruction of a
nest of 5 enemy machine guns located in a bunker 150 yards to the flank
which had stopped the advance of his platoon. Stripping off his pack,
overshoes, helmet, and overcoat, he sprinted alone with his rifle and
hand grenades across the open terrain toward the enemy emplacement.
Before he had gone half the distance he was hit by a burst of machine gun
fire. Dropping his rifle, he continued to stagger forward until he fell
mortally wounded only 10 yards from the enemy emplacement. His
single-handed attack forced the enemy to leave the machine guns. During
this break in hostile fire the platoon moved forward and overran the
position. Pvt. Henry, by his gallantry and intrepidity and utter
disregard for his own life, enabled his company to reach its objective,
capturing this key defense and 70 German prisoners."
From Pvt. Henry's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on June 12, 1945.
May you be at peace,
Brian
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