MOH USA WW II






MOH USA WW II 

9/17/1944, Sgt Harold O. Messerschmidt fought enemy alone hand to hand until KIA, near Radden, France.

9/17/1944, 1st Lt Donald K. Schwab dismantled strong German position & took 1 POW.

Harold O. Messerschmidt (October 20, 1923 – September 17, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Messerschmidt joined the Army from Chester, Pennsylvania in May 1943,[1] and by September 17, 1944 was serving as a Sergeant in Company L, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. 

During a German attack on that day, near fr:Raddon-et-Chapendu, France, he led and encouraged his men until everyone in his unit had been killed or wounded. Ignoring his own wounds, he continued to fight the enemy force alone in hand to hand combat until he was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on July 17, 1946.
Messerschmidt, aged 20 at his death, was buried in Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery, Barnesville, Pennsylvania.

Harold O. Messerschmidt
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Braving machinegun, machine pistol, and rifle fire, he moved fearlessly and calmly from man to man along his 40-yard squad front, encouraging each to hold against the overwhelming assault of a fanatical foe surging up the hillside.

 Knocked to the ground by a burst from an enemy automatic weapon, he immediately jumped to his feet, and ignoring his grave wounds, fired his submachine gun at the enemy that was now upon them, killing 5 and wounding many others before his ammunition was spent. Virtually surrounded by a frenzied foe and all of his squad now casualties, he elected to fight alone, using his empty submachine gun as a bludgeon against his assailants.

 Spotting 1 of the enemy about to kill a wounded comrade, he felled the German with a blow of his weapon. Seeing friendly reinforcements running up the hill, he continued furiously to wield his empty gun against the foe in a new attack, and it was thus that he made the supreme sacrifice. Sgt. Messerschmidt's sustained heroism in hand-to-hand combat with superior enemy forces was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_O._Messerschmidt  USA 9/17/1944
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Messerschmidt&GSfn=Harold&GSmn=O&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=40&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=7243967&df=all&

Donald Kenneth Schwab (December 6, 1918 – February 19, 2005) was a United States Army veteran of World War II and recipient of the U.S. Medal of Honor.
Buried in Nebraska
According to his official Medal of Honor online biography:

[Schwab] joined the U.S. Army upon graduation from high school.
Schwab distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on Sept. 17, 1944. His courage and determination resulted in the dismantling of a strong German position and he would take one prisoner of war.

Schwab served with the US Army until Oct. 26, 1945. Upon exiting the service Schwab returned to Hooper, Neb. and began a farming career. He later was employed with the postal service in Nebraska until retirement. 

In Hooper, Schwab was highly active in the church and community. He also enjoyed sports and played on various local softball and basketball teams.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Schwab received the Distinguished Service Cross (this award will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor on Mar. 18), Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Silver Service Star, two Bronze Service Stars and Bronze Arrowhead Device, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, French Fourragere, Honorable Service Lapel Button-World War II.

Schwab was awarded the Army Medal of Honor posthumously by President Barack Obama in a March 18, 2014 ceremony in the White House. Schwab's award came through the Defense Authorization Act which called in 2002 for a review of approximately 600 mostly Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor. 

Schwab was among five additional service members who the review identified as having been overlooked for the honor.
First Lieutenant Donald K. Schwab distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the Commander of Company E, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, during combat operations against an armed enemy near Lure, France on September 17, 1944. 

That afternoon, as First Lieutenant Schwab led his company across four hundred yards of exposed ground, an intense, grazing burst of machinegun and machine-pistol fire sprung forth without warning from a fringe of woods directly in front of the American force. First Lieutenant Schwab quickly extricated his men from the attempted ambush and led them back to a defiladed position. Soon after, he was ordered to overwhelm the enemy line. 

He rapidly organized his men into a skirmish line and, with indomitable courage, again led them forward into the lethal enemy fire. When halted a second time, First Lieutenant Schwab moved from man to man to supervise collection of the wounded and organize his company’s withdrawal. From defilade, he rallied his decimated force for a third charge on the hostile strong point and successfully worked his way to within fifty yards of the Germans before ordering his men to hit the dirt. 

While automatic weapons fire blazed around him, he rushed forward alone, firing his carbine at the German foxholes, aiming for the vital enemy machine-pistol nest which had sparked the German resistance and caused heavy casualties among his men. Silhouetted through the mist and rain by enemy flares, he charged to the German emplacement, ripped the half-cover off the hostile firing pit, struck the German gunner on the head with his carbine butt and dragged the German back through a hail of fire to friendly lines. 

First Lieutenant Schwab’s action so disorganized hostile infantry resistance that the enemy forces withdrew, abandoning their formidable defensive line. First Lieutenant Schwab’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_K._Schwab   USA 9/17/1944

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Schwab&GSfn=Donald&GSmn=K&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=31&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=126707169&df=all&

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