"He commanded a platoon that bore the brunt of a desperate enemy
counterattack near Korling, France, before dawn on 12 November 1944.
When German tanks and self-propelled guns
penetrated his left flank and overwhelming infantry forces threatened
to overrun the 1 remaining machine gun in that section, he ran 400 yards
through woods churned by artillery and mortar
concentrations to strengthen the defense. With the one remaining gunner,
he directed furious fire into the advancing hordes until they swarmed
close to the position. He left the gun, boldly charged the attackers
and, after a 15-minute exchange of hand grenades,
forced them to withdraw leaving 30 dead behind. He re-crossed the
fire-swept terrain to his then threatened right flank, exhorted his men
and directed murderous fire from the single machine gun at that position.
There, in the light of bursting mortar shells, he again closed with the
enemy in a hand grenade duel and, after a fierce 30-minute battle,
forced the Germans to withdraw leaving another 20 dead. The gallantry
and intrepidity of T/Sgt. Everhart in rallying his men and refusing to
fall back in the face of terrible odds were highly instrumental in
repelling the fanatical enemy counterattack directed at the American
bridgehead across the Moselle River."
From T/Sgt. Everhart's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on September 10, 1945.
May you be at peace,
Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment