"As leader of the weapons platoon of Company E, 413th Infantry, on the
night of November 2, 1944, he fought gallantly in a pitched battle which
followed the crossing of the Mark River in the Netherlands. When 2
machine guns pinned down his company, he tried to eliminate, with mortar
fire, their grazing fire which was inflicting serious casualties and
preventing the company's advance from an area rocked by artillery
shelling. In the moonlight it was impossible for him to locate
accurately the enemy's camouflaged positions; but he continued to direct
fire until wounded severely in the legs and rendered unconscious by a
German shell. When he recovered consciousness he instructed his unit and
then crawled to the forward rifle platoon positions. Taking a two-man bazooka
team on his voluntary mission, he advanced chest deep in chilling water
along a canal toward 1 enemy machine gun. While the bazooka team covered
him, he approached alone to within 15 yards of the hostile emplacement
in a house. He charged the remaining distance and killed the 2 gunners
with hand grenades. Returning to his men he led them through intense fire over open ground to assault the second German machine gun. An enemy sniper
who tried to block the way was dispatched, and the trio pressed on.
When discovered by the machine gun crew and subjected to direct fire, 1st
Lt. Bolton killed 1 of the 3 gunners with carbine fire, and his 2 comrades shot the others. Continuing to disregard his wounds, he led the bazooka team toward an 88-mm artillery piece
which was having telling effect on the American ranks, and approached
once more through icy canal water until he could dimly make out the
gun's silhouette. Under his fire direction, the two soldiers knocked out
the enemy weapon with rockets. On the way back to his own lines he was
again wounded. To prevent his men being longer subjected to deadly fire,
he refused aid and ordered them back to safety, painfully crawling
after them until he reached his lines, where he collapsed. 1st Lt.
Bolton's heroic assaults in the face of vicious fire, his inspiring
leadership, and continued aggressiveness even through suffering from
serious wounds, contributed in large measure to overcoming strong enemy
resistance and made it possible for his battalion to reach its
objective."
From 1st Lieutenant Cecil H. Bolton's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on September 1, 1945.
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian
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