"For performing a series of heroic deeds from 16 to 29 November 1944,
during his company's relentless drive from Woippy, France, through Metz
to Kerprich Hemmersdorf, Germany. As he led a rifle squad on 16 November
at Woippy, a crossfire from enemy machine guns pinned down his unit.
Ordering his men to remain under cover, he went forward alone, entered a
building housing 1 of the guns and forced 5 Germans to surrender at bayonet
point. He then took the second gun single-handedly by hurling grenades
into the enemy position, killing 2, wounding 3 more, and taking 2
additional prisoners. At the outskirts of Metz the next day, when his
platoon, confused by heavy explosions and the withdrawal of friendly
tanks, retired, he fearlessly remained behind armed with an automatic rifle
and exchanged bursts with a German machine gun until he silenced the
enemy weapon. His quick action in covering his comrades gave the platoon
time to regroup and carry on the fight. On 19 November S/Sgt. Miller
led an attack on large enemy barracks. Covered by his squad, he crawled
to a barracks window, climbed in and captured 6 riflemen occupying the
room. His men, and then the entire company, followed through the window,
scoured the building, and took 75 prisoners. S/Sgt. Miller volunteered,
with 3 comrades, to capture Gestapo
officers who were preventing the surrender of German troops in another
building. He ran a gauntlet of machine gun fire and was lifted through a
window. Inside, he found himself covered by a machine pistol, but he
persuaded the 4 Gestapo agents confronting him to surrender. Early the
next morning, when strong hostile forces punished his company with heavy
fire, S/Sgt. Miller assumed the task of destroying a well-placed
machine gun. He was knocked down by a rifle grenade as he climbed an open stairway in a house, but pressed on with a bazooka
to find an advantageous spot from which to launch his rocket. He
discovered that he could fire only from the roof, a position where he
would draw tremendous enemy fire. Facing the risk, he moved into the
open, coolly took aim and scored a direct hit on the hostile
emplacement, wreaking such havoc that the enemy troops became completely
demoralized and began surrendering by the score. The following day, in
Metz, he captured 12 more prisoners and silenced an enemy machine gun
after volunteering for a hazardous mission in advance of his company's
position. On 29 November, as Company G climbed a hill overlooking
Kerprich Hemmersdorf, enemy fire pinned the unit to the ground. S/Sgt.
Miller, on his own initiative, pressed ahead with his squad past the
company's leading element to meet the surprise resistance. His men stood
up and advanced deliberately, firing as they went. Inspired by S/Sgt.
Miller's leadership, the platoon followed, and then another platoon
arose and grimly closed with the Germans. The enemy action was
smothered, but at the cost of S/Sgt. Miller's life. His tenacious
devotion to the attack, his gallant choice to expose himself to enemy
action rather than endanger his men, his limitless bravery, assured the
success of Company G."
From S/Sgt. Miller's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on September 1, 1945.
Another ass-kinkin' Yank!
Brian & Mel
Andrew Miller U.S. Army Reserve Center in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
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