By early 1944, Alton Knappenberger "Knappie" was serving as a PFC with the 30th IR/3rd ID, with Italy being his first taste of combat.
On Feb. 1 near Cisterna di Littoria, a heavy German counterattack was launched against his battalion. Pfc. Knappenberger crawled to an exposed knoll and went into position with his BAR. In a span of 2 hours, he singlehandedly took out 2 MG positions, a 20mm flak crew held back 2 infantry companies supported by tanks all under concentrated automatic and artillery fire. His actions accounted for 60 confirmed kills and his position being held.
After only spending a total of 11 days in combat, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. "I was called a 'One Man Army' , but I didn't do anything special, I was just doing my job" #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #badass #hardcore #ww2 #smokebreak