"For fighting gallantly at Mittelwihr, France. On the morning of December
18, 1944, he led a squad against a schoolhouse held by enemy troops.
While his men covered him, he dashed toward the building, surprised two
guards at the door and took them prisoner without firing a shot. He
found that other Germans were in the cellar. These he threatened with
hand grenades, forcing 26 in all to emerge and surrender. His squad then
occupied the building and prepared to defend it against powerful enemy
action. The next day, the enemy poured artillery and mortar barrages
into the position, disrupting communications which T/Sgt. Bell
repeatedly repaired under heavy small-arms fire as he crossed dangerous
terrain to keep his company commander informed of the squad's situation.
During the day, several prisoners were taken and other Germans killed
when hostile forces were attracted to the schoolhouse by the sound of
captured German weapons fired by the Americans. At dawn the next day the
enemy prepared to assault the building. A German tank fired round after
round into the structure, partially demolishing the upper stories.
Despite this heavy fire, T/Sgt. Bell climbed to the second floor and
directed artillery fire which forced the hostile tank to withdraw. He
then adjusted mortar fire on large forces of enemy foot soldiers
attempting to reach the American position and, when this force broke and
attempted to retire, he directed deadly machine gun and rifle fire into
their disorganized ranks. Calling for armored support to blast out the
German troops hidden behind a wall, he unhesitatingly exposed himself to
heavy small-arms fire to stand beside a friendly tank and tell its
occupants where to rip holes in walls protecting approaches to the
school building. He then trained machine guns on the gaps and mowed down
all hostile troops attempting to cross the openings to get closer to
the school building. By his intrepidity and bold, aggressive leadership,
T/Sgt. Bell enabled his 8-man squad to drive back approximately 150 of
the enemy, killing at least 87 and capturing 42. Personally, he killed
more than 20 and captured 33 prisoners."
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian
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