Turning down two offers as a Commissioned Officer, 1st Sgt. Ben Kaufman liked the camaraderie of his own unit and was no stranger to combat.
On October 4, 1918, Ben was recovering in a field hospital after being blinded by gas. Upon hearing about his unit going into an offensive, he escaped the hospital to rejoin and lead his men.
During the assault in the Argonnes, he witnessed two of his privates being gunned down by a German MG nest. With no fucks to spare and armed only with a pistol, he ran towards the nest under heavy fire but in the process, bullets tore up most of his right arm.
Nevertheless, he killed 2 of the crew with a hand grenade, chased several others towards the American lines and captured a few more.
When he returned with his prisoners, he fainted from blood loss and his commanders were shocked to find out that his pistol had been empty the entire time.
For abandoning the field hospital, Ben initially was charged with AWOL and awaited a court martial. However, upon reconsideration, seeing his bravery and dedication for his men and his company, the brass awarded him with the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He survived the wounds and the war only to pass away from a ruptured scrotum in 1981. #ww1 #reality #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #warrior