April 5, 1945: On the western front, 18 US Divisions began to clear the Ruhr pocket in Germany.
April 5, 1945: On the western front, 18 US Divisions began to clear the Ruhr pocket in Germany. US 1st Army hammers the Ruhr pocket and continues pushing east around Warburg and Kassel while US 9th Army attacks across the Weser River at Hamelin and continues assaulting Ruhr pocket. Patton’s US 3rd Army captures Muhlhausen and Meiningen while US 7th Army captures Gemuenden, pushes toward Schweinfurt, and attacks into Heilbronn. British 2nd Army captures Lingen and Osnabruck, and Canadian 1st Army crosses Twenthe canal and captures Almelo. French 1st Army begins attacking toward Pforzheim. Serving in the Medical Detachment of the 48th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division in Alemert, Germany, Corporal Thomas J. Kelly repeatedly exposes himself to hostile fire in order to drag wounded men to safety. For these actions, he is awarded the Medal of Honor seven months later, on November 1, 1945. Here is his citation: “He was an aid man with the 1st Platoon of Company C during a...