The Real Heroes

[AMarty]

I noticed in one of the threads there was a side discussion about several unassuming men who turned out to have been quite heroic during WW 2. It seems that there should be one thread where we can continue to tell and link to similar stories when we find them.

So, that's what I would like to start here, a central repository for stories of the real heroes of WW 2; the soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines et al of all countries, in Europe and the Pacific, that did their job and became examples for following generations, even if those generations don't realize it. To start off, here is one example -

http://www.52best.com/medal.asp

[zukkov]

interesting story. i notice he was in the 36th(texas division). i remember one day many years ago, all us kids had found dad's high school(abilene, tx class of 41) annual and starting browsing. dad came along and said "let me show you something". he went through it page by page and pointed at pictures saying "he's dead" at all the ones he pointed at. turns out many of his classmates had gone to war with the 36th and were killed. he told us that of his high school football team, only 3 came back from the war. i had forgotten that story till just now. war is indeed hell...

[Dietrich]

From the article "Above, Beyond and Forgotten" from the April 2006 issue of World War II magazine:

Llewellyn M. Chilson should be a household name—President Harry S. Truman thought so*. At a White House Ceremony on December 6, 1946, the president pinned seven combat awards on the chest of Master Sergeant Chilson. As he gazed at the medals covering the sergeant's uniform, Truman said: "This is the most remarkable list of citations I have ever seen. For any one of these, this young man is entitlted to all the country has to offer. These ought to be worth a Medal of Honor—that's what I think about it."

On March 28, 1942, a few days before his 22nd birthday, Chilson was inducted into the Army. Records show that he was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds when he reported for duty at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. Chilson completed basic infantry and amphibious training at Camp Livingston, La., and Camp Johnston, Fla. He then joined Company G, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division.

On November 26, [1944,] the 179th Infantry Division was approaching Denshein, France. While attempting to cut the main road leading from the town, Chilson's platoon was suddenly halted by machine gun and rifle fire from a German roadblock. After directing his soldiers to lay down covering fire with a machine gun, Chilson moved forward—alone—as enemy bullets blanketed the area.

Taking advantage of darkness, Chilson outflanked the Germans. He crawled to within 60 feet of the roadblock, threw two hand grenades into the enemy position and then opened fire. When the firing stopped, the sergeant had killed three Germans and forced nine others to surrender. His attack allowed the company to cut the road and, as his subsequent citation for the Silver Star stated, "materially aided" in the capture of Denshein.

At about 2:30 that morning [March 26, 1945], Company G began its crossing of the Rhine [near Worms] in small boats. . . . Comnpany G had made it halfway across the river when the Germans, waiting to catch the Americans when they were most vulnerable, opened up with a barrage of mortar, rifle and machine gun fire. . . . Protected by the dark, the Americans made it across, but the 1st and 2nd platoons were immediately pinned down by enemy fire as soon as they reached the opposite shore. The lieutenant in charge of the second platoon was shot in the shoulder, side and leg, and was out of action. . . . Chilson took command of the platoon and quickly formed the disorganized and frightened GIs into a compact, efficient fighting force.

He then began leading Company G up the right bank of the river. They had only gone about 100 yards when the Germans began firing on them with automatic weapons from the top of the dike running along the bank of the Rhine. Chilson ordered his men to hold their position and began inching his way forward over the swampy, open ground and up onto the dike.

When he got within range of the German machine-gunners, Chilson saw a horse-drawn ammunition wagon. He quickly threw a white phosphorus grenade into the wagon, which set it ablaze and destroyed the ammunition it was carrying. Chilson then rushed along the dike and with his carbine killed the German machine-gunners by the light of the fire from the burning wagon.

Having destroyed the machine guns, Chilson ran back to his platoon and led them up to the dike and along the riverbank. At 4 a.m. the company was again halted by enemy machine guns. Two well-concealed German positions were firing onto the Americans. As before, Chilson ordered his men to remain in place and then crawled alone for 200 yards into the darkness. Well forward of his own men, the sergeant then used a radio to call for mortar and artillery fire onto the Germans, directing the fire by by sound and flash until the two machine gun positions had been destroyed as well as two 20mm cannons that had also begun to fire on the Americans.

Chilson led his men forward. By 9 a.m. they had reached a road junction where they were again stopped by enemy fire from four machine guns and well-aimed small arms. "It was impossible to move," company commander Captain Raymond E. Wantz remembered. "We called for artillery fire but couldn't get it." Company G then put out cloth recognition panels to mark its position for a hoped-for airstrike. This idea was quashed when the GIs realized that the panels would most likely not be spotted by friendly pilots. Finally, Wantz decided to use a bazooka against the Germans. He sent out a two-man team that fired nine rounds before both men were wounded—but none of the bazooka rounds detonated.

At this critical moment, Chilson volunteered to take two men and destroy the machine guns. After gathering eight white phosphorus and seven fragmentation grenades from his platoon—as well as 120 rounds of ammunition for his own carbine—Chilson had the rest of his men fire on the Germans while he led his companions up a water-filled ditch. When the trio was within 30 yards of the first enemy machine gun, Chilson told his two comrades to open up with their M1s. Then, rising up on one knee, Chilson hurled one white phosphorus and two high-explosive grenades at the enemy in rapid succession. As they exploded, he stood up and charged the Germans, killing three and forcing nine others to surrender.

Having silenced the first gun emplacement, Chilson then scrambled down the side of the dike and rushed some 65 yards to the second machine gun position, which the Germans had placed in a hollow tree stump. Reaching around the tree, he dropped a white phosphorus grenade into the stump—destroying the gun and killing two of its crew. The two surviving Germans were so stunned that they surrendered.

Not satisfied with his success thus far, Chilson then charged the two remaining German machine gun positions, throwing white phosphorus grenades as he advanced and yelling at the enemy troops to surrender. Thirty German troops were so amazed by what they saw coming at them that they dropped their guns and gave themselves up.

. . .

By the end of the day, Company G had carried out its orders—it had taken Gernsheim. Although it suffered 25 casualties, without tank support the company had killed, wounded or captured about 200 Germans and seized 13 machine guns and four 20mm cannons. What is most impressive is that much of that destruction had been wrought by just one man—Chilson. He alone was responsible for killed or wounding some 30 of the enemy and taking an additional 200 prisoner. For his heroism that day, Chilson received the Distinguished Service Cross, which is second only to the Medal of Honor.

The article includes descriptions of about a dozen more instances of Chilson either taking on the enemy alone (except, perhaps, for supporting small-arms fire) or leading parts of his platoon in the attack.

In all, Chilson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross three times, the Silver Star twice, the Purple Heart twice, and the Legion of Merit (which was rarely awarded to enlisted men), as well as several other medals.

45th Division website with detailed info about and photos of Chilson

[zukkov]

absolutely amazing! should have been given the medal of honor!

[Magpie_Oz]

For me it is this fellow,

While serving in Europe, North Africa, The Pacific and Korea is not totally unusual for an Australian solider you need to bear in mind that Captain Reg Saunders was not noted on the electoral roll nor was he entitled to vote until a referendum in 1967.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reg_Saunders

[para]

what about this guy? In particular the hand to hand fighting he did during the action, culminating with him being unable to use his weapons in a tight space, so he resorted to using a rock to beat the brains in of the remaining Japanese soldier

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/gurkha-obituaries/1580614/Bhanubhakta-Gurung-VC.html

[Sakai007]

These men are outstanding examples of a Hero in war!!! Really, men like this are too often forgotten today, and it is a shame, a real shame. I am glad the people here, myself, and others like us are still remembering these men for their contributions and will be able to pass the stories along to others.

[finalcut]

Heres one of my favorites.Another unsung hero who never got the recognition he deserved.

http://www.paralumun.com/warbritishsassterling.htm

[dieseltaylor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Derrick