Michael Joseph Daly and Pres. Truman
"Early in the morning of 18 April 1945, he led his company through the shell-battered, sniper-infested
wreckage of Nuremberg, Germany. When blistering machine gun fire caught
his unit in an exposed position, he ordered his men to take cover,
dashed forward alone, and, as bullets whined about him, shot the 3-man
gun crew with his carbine.
Continuing the advance at the head of his company, he located an enemy
patrol armed with rocket launchers which threatened friendly armor.
He again went forward alone, secured a vantage point and opened fire on
the Germans. Immediately he became the target for concentrated machine pistol
and rocket fire, which blasted the rubble about him. Calmly, he
continued to shoot at the patrol until he had killed all 6 enemy
infantrymen. Continuing boldly far in front of his company, he entered a
park, where as his men advanced, a German machine gun opened up on them
without warning. With his carbine, he killed the gunner; and then, from a
completely exposed position, he directed machine gun fire on the
remainder of the crew until all were dead. In a final duel, he wiped out
a third machine gun emplacement with rifle fire at a range of 10 yards.
By fearlessly engaging in 4 single-handed fire fights with a desperate,
powerfully armed enemy, Lt. Daly, voluntarily taking all major risks
himself and protecting his men at every opportunity, killed 15 Germans,
silenced 3 enemy machine guns and wiped out an entire enemy patrol. His
heroism during the lone bitter struggle with fanatical enemy forces was
an inspiration to the valiant Americans who took Nuremberg."
From Capt. Daly's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on August 23, 1945.
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian
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