On the night of June 2, 1944, near Valmontone, Italy, Pvt. Herbert F. Christian , from Byesville, OH, and the men of 15th IR/3rd ID were on a 12 men-patrol and when they got ambushed by a superior enemy force.
Braving massed fire of about 60 riflemen, 3 machineguns, and 3 tanks from positions only 30 yards distant, he stood erect and signaled to the patrol to withdraw. The whole area was brightly illuminated by enemy flares. Although his right leg was severed above the knee by cannon fire, Pvt. Christian advanced on his left knee and the bloody stump of his right thigh, firing his submachinegun towards the incoming horde and killing 3 enemy soldiers almost simultaneously.
Despite the excruciating pain, Pvt. Christian continued on his self-assigned mission. He succeeded in distracting the enemy and enabled his 12 comrades to escape. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, he made his way forward 20 yards, halted at a point within 10 yards of the enemy, and despite intense fire, killed a machine-pistol man. Reloading his weapon, he fired directly into the enemy positions. The enemy appeared enraged at the success of his ruse, and began concentrating 20-mm. machinegun, machine-pistol and rifle fire on him, yet he refused to seek cover. Maintaining his erect position, Pvt. Christian fired his weapon to the very last. Just as he emptied his submachinegun, the enemy bullets found their mark and Pvt. Christian slumped forward dead; 2 weeks shy before his 32nd birthday.
For his actions and sacrifice, Pvt. Christian was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
On a side note: Herbert Christian was a retail manager prior to the war, and enlisted at the age of 30..just to show you the type of caliber some Americans truly are when it comes to serving their country during a time of war, instead of the "I'm too old to enlist, and I got a life already, but i wanted to join, and never really got around to it, let's kill ISIS, but you do it instead, go velcro" #zerofucks #nofucks #stayzero #hero #ww2 #badass #patriot