At 0530 on December 16th, 1944 near the village of Krinklet, the Germans launched a massive attack on the Sgt. Jose' Mendoza Lopez and the men of Co. K, 23rd IR, 2nd ID; kicking off the Battle of the Bulge.
Sgt. Lopez and his men were hardened combat vets, surviving countless of battles across France and Belgium, but this time they were up against massive waves of infantry and armor.
Armed with a Browning 30 cal he took from a knocked out Sherman, Lopez sprinted towards the left flank, threw himself down into a foxhole (which only covered him up to his waist) and immediately let loose a burst of fire killing 10 advancing Germans. A German tank had spotted him and opened fire. Ignoring this, López found another group of infantry, this time around 25 men, and cut them down as well. Looking around, he realized his whole line was collapsing, and his men were routing back to safety. But as they got up and ran they were shot down by their advancing enemy. Someone had to give them covering fire to save their lives.
Again, he left his position and bounded to a hole to the rear of the right flank of the line. From here he continued to fire, despite being blown backward by German artillery. But the German troops wouldn’t let up, and seemed to be endless. For every group he killed, more would emerge from the vehicles and snowy forest.
He continued to fire, slowing the German advance just enough for his comrades to retreat to safety. Realizing his position, again, was about to be overrun, he carried his now burning-hot machine gun to where a group of his men were desperately trying to establish a new defense.
Resetting his gun, he continued to fire, only giving up this position after expending all of his ammunition. Finally, after intense fighting, and an amazing ability to stay alive, despite the entire world collapsing around him, López and his men made it back to Krinkelt.
By the end, he had killed nearly 100 Germans, and his actions saved countless lives from K Company. For his bravery that day, Sergeant José Mendoza López was awarded the Medal of Honor on June 18th, 1945. #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #ww2 #badass