"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and
beyond the call of duty on 21 September 1944, near Oosterhout, Holland. The rifle company in which Pvt. Towle served as rocket launcher gunner
was occupying a defensive position in the west sector of the recently
established Nijmegen
bridgehead when a strong enemy force of approximately 100 infantry
supported by 2 tanks and a half-track formed for a counterattack. With
full knowledge of the disastrous consequences resulting not only to his
company but to the entire bridgehead by an enemy breakthrough, Pvt.
Towle immediately and without orders left his foxhole and moved 200
yards in the face of intense small-arms fire to a position on an exposed
dike roadbed. From this precarious position Pvt. Towle fired his rocket
launcher at and hit both tanks to his immediate front. Armored skirting
on both tanks prevented penetration by the projectiles, but both
vehicles withdrew slightly damaged. Still under intense fire and fully
exposed to the enemy, Pvt. Towle then engaged a nearby house which 9
Germans had entered and were using as a strong point and with 1 round
killed all 9. Hurriedly replenishing his supply of ammunition, Pvt.
Towle, motivated only by his high conception of duty which called for
the destruction of the enemy at any cost, then rushed approximately 125
yards through grazing enemy fire to an exposed position from which he
could engage the enemy half-track with his rocket launcher. While in a
kneeling position preparatory to firing on the enemy vehicle, Pvt. Towle
was mortally wounded by a mortar
shell. By his heroic tenacity, at the price of his life, Pvt. Towle
saved the lives of many of his comrades and was directly instrumental in
breaking up the enemy counterattack."
From Pvt. Towle's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on March 15, 1945.
May you be at peace,
Brian & Mel
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