The 30th Infantry Division
Medal of Honor Recipients In WWII
The following six (6) men of the 30th Infantry Division
have distinguished themselves by being the recipients of the nation's
highest military award, and their military data is listed along with
their citation which enumerates their heroic action.
BEAUDOIN, RAYMOND O.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army,
Company F, 119th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Hamelin, Germany, 6 April 1945. Entered
service at: Holyoke, Mass. Birth: Holyoke, Mass.; G.O. No.: 9, 25January
1946.
Citation:
He was leading the 2d Platoon of Company F over flat,
open terrain to Hamelin, Germany, when the enemy went into action
with machineguns and automatic weapons, laying down a devastating
curtain of fire which pinned his unit to the ground. By rotating men
in firing positions he made it possible for his entire platoon to
dig in, defying all the while the murderous enemy fire to encourage
his men and to distribute ammunition.
He then dug in himself at the most advanced position,
where he kept up a steady fire, killing 6 hostile soldiers, and directing
his men in inflicting heavy casualties on the numerically superior
opposing force. Despite these defensive measures, however, the position
of the platoon became more precarious, for the enemy had brought up
strong reinforcements and was preparing a counterattack. Three men,
sent back at intervals to obtain ammunition and reinforcements, were
killed by sniper fire. To relieve his command from the desperate situation,
1st Lt. Beaudoin decided to make a l-man attack on the most damaging
enemy sniper nest 90 yards to the right flank, and thereby divert
attention from the runner who would attempt to pierce the enemy's
barrier of bullets and secure help. Crawling over completely exposed
ground, he relentlessly advanced, undeterred by 8 rounds of bazooka
fire which threw mud and stones over him or by rifle fire which ripped
his uniform. Ten yards from the enemy position he stood up and charged.
At point-blank range he shot and killed 2 occupants of the nest; a
third, who tried to bayonet him, he overpowered and killed with the
butt of his carbine; and the fourth adversary was cut down by the
platoon's rifle fire as he attempted to flee.
He continued his attack by running toward a dugout,
but there he was struck and killed by a burst from a machinegun. By
his intrepidity, great fighting skill, and supreme devotion to his
responsibility for the well-being of his platoon, 1st Lt. Beaudoin
single-handedly accomplished a mission that enabled a messenger to
secure help which saved the stricken unit and made possible the decisive
defeat of the German forces.
BOLDEN, PAUL L.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company
I, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Petit-Coo, Belgium, 23 December 1944.
Entered service at: Madison, Ala. Birth: Hobbes Island, Iowa. G.O.
No.: 73, 30 August 1945.
Citation:
He voluntarily attacked a formidable enemy strong point
in Petit-Coo, Belgium, on 23 December, 1944, when his company was
pinned down by extremely heavy automatic and small-arms fire coming
from a house 200 yards to the front. Mortar and tank artillery shells
pounded the unit, when S/Sgt. Bolden and a comrade, on their own initiative,
moved forward into a hail of bullets to eliminate the ever-increasing
fire from the German position. Crawling ahead to close with what they
knew was a powerfully armed, vastly superior force, the pair reached
the house and took up assault positions, S/Sgt. Bolden under a window,
his comrade across the street where he could deliver covering fire.
In rapid succession, S/Sgt. Bolden hurled a fragmentation grenade
and a white phosphorous grenade into the building; and then, fully
realizing that he faced tremendous odds, rushed to the door, threw
it open and fired into 35 SS troopers who were trying to reorganize
themselves after the havoc wrought by the grenades. Twenty Germans
died under fire of his submachinegun before he was struck in the shoulder,
chest, and stomach by part of a burst which killed his comrade across
the street. He withdrew from the house, waiting for the surviving
Germans to come out and surrender. When none appeared in the doorway,
he summoned his ebbing strength, overcame the extreme pain he suffered
and boldly walked back into the house, firing as he went. He had killed
the remaining 15 enemy soldiers when his ammunition ran out. S/Sgt.
Bolden's heroic advance against great odds, his fearless assault,
and his magnificent display of courage in reentering the building
where he had been severely wounded cleared the path for his company
and insured the success of its mission.
CURREY, FRANCIS S.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company
K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Malmedy, Belgium, 21 December 1944.
Entered service at: Hurleyville, N.Y. Birth: Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.
G.O. No.: 69, 17 August 1945.
Citation:
He was an automatic rifleman with the 3d Platoon defending
a strong point near Malmedy, Belgium, on 21 December 1944, when the
enemy launched a powerful attack. Overrunning tank destroyers and
antitank guns located near the strong point, German tanks advanced
to the 3d Platoon's position, and, after prolonged fighting, forced
the withdrawal of this group to a nearby factory. Sgt. Currey found
a bazooka in the building and crossed the street to secure rockets
meanwhile enduring intense fire from enemy tanks and hostile infantrymen
who had taken up a position at a house a short distance away. In the
face of small-arms, machinegun, and artillery fire, he, with a companion,
knocked out a tank with 1 shot. Moving to another position, he observed
3 Germans in the doorway of an enemy-held house. He killed or wounded
all 3 with his automatic rifle. He emerged from cover and advanced
alone to within 50 yards of the house, intent on wrecking it with
rockets. Covered by friendly fire, he stood erect, and fired a shot
which knocked down half of 1 wall. While in this forward position,
he observed 5 Americans who had been pinned down for hours by fire
from the house and 3 tanks. Realizing that they could not escape until
the enemy tank and infantry guns had been silenced, Sgt. Currey crossed
the street to a vehicle, where he procured an armful of antitank grenades.
These he launched while under heavy enemy fire, driving the tank men
from the vehicles into the house.
He then climbed onto a half-track in full view of the
Germans and fired a machinegun at the house. Once again changing his
position, he manned another machinegun whose crew had been killed;
under his covering fire the 5 soldiers were able to retire to safety.
Deprived of tanks and with heavy infantry casualties, the enemy was
forced to withdraw. Through his extensive knowledge of weapons and
by his heroic and repeated braving of murderous enemy fire, Sgt. Currey
was greatly responsible for inflicting heavy losses in men and material
on the enemy, for rescuing 5 comrades, 2 of whom were wounded, and
for stemming an attack which threatened to flank his battalion's position.
HORNER, FREEMAN V.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company
K, 119th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Wurselen, Germany, 16 November 1944.
Entered service at: Shamokin, Pa. Birth: Mount Carmel, Pa. G.O. No.:
95, 30 October 1945.
Citation:
S/Sgt. Horner and other members of his company were
attacking Wurselen, Germany, against stubborn resistance on 16 November
1944, when machinegun fire from houses on the edge of the town pinned
the attackers in flat, open terrain 100 yards from their objective.
As they lay in the field, enemy artillery observers directed fire
upon them, causing serious casualties. Realizing that the machineguns
must be eliminated in order to permit the company to advance from
its precarious position, S/Sgt. Horner voluntarily stood up with his
submachine gun and rushed into the teeth of concentrated fire, burdened
by a heavy load of ammunition and hand grenades. Just as he reached
a position of seeming safety, he was fired on by a machinegun which
had remained silent up until that time. He coolly wheeled in his fully
exposed position while bullets barely missed him and killed 2 hostile
gunners with a single, devastating burst. He turned to face the fire
of the other 2 machineguns, and dodging fire as he ran, charged the
2 positions 50 yards away.
Demoralized by their inability to hit the intrepid infantryman,
the enemy abandoned their guns and took cover in the cellar of the
house they occupied. S/Sgt. Horner burst into the building, hurled
2 grenades down the cellar stairs, and called for the Germans to surrender.
Four men gave up to him. By his extraordinary courage, S/Sgt. Horner
destroyed 3 enemy machinegun positions, killed or captured 7 enemy,
and cleared the path for his company's successful assault on Wurselen
*KINER, HAROLD G.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company F,
117th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Palenberg, Germany, 2 October 1944.
Entered service at: Enid, Okla. Birth: Aline, Okla. G.O. No.: 48.
Citation:
23 June 1945. With 4 other men, he was leading in a
frontal assault 2 October 1944, on a Siegfried Line pillbox near Palenberg,
Germany. Machinegun fire from the strongly defended enemy position
25 yards away pinned down the attackers. The Germans threw hand grenades,
1 of which dropped between Pvt. Kiner and 2 other men. With no hesitation,
Private Kiner hurled himself upon the grenade, smothering the explosion.
By his gallant action and voluntary sacrifice of his own life, he
saved his 2 comrades from serious injury or death.
*PENDLETON, JACK J.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company
I, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Bardenberg, Germany, 12 October 1944.
Entered service at: Yakima, Wash. Birth: Sentinel Butte, N. Dakota.
G.O. No.: 24, 6 April 1945.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk
of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 12 October 1944.
When Company I was advancing on the town of Bardenberg, Germany, they
reached a point approximately two-thirds of the distance through the
town when they were pinned down by fire from a nest of enemy machineguns.
This enemy strong point was protected by a lone machinegun strategically
placed at an intersection and firing down a street which offered little
or no cover or concealment for the advancing troops. The elimination
of this protecting machinegun was imperative in order that the stronger
position it protected could be neutralized. After repeated and unsuccessful
attempts had been made to knock out this position, S/Sgt. Pendleton
volunteered to lead his squad in an attempt to neutralize this strongpoint.
S/Sgt. Pendleton started his squad slowly forward, crawling about
10 yards in front of his men in the advance toward the enemy gun.
After advancing approximately 130 yards under the withering fire,
S/Sgt. Pendleton was seriously wounded in the leg by a burst from
the gun he was assaulting. Disregarding his grievous wound, he ordered
his men to remain where they were, and with a supply of hand-grenades
he slowly and painfully worked his way forward alone. With no hope
of surviving the veritable hail of machinegun fire which he deliberately
drew onto himself, he succeeded in advancing to within 10 yards of
the enemy position when he was instantly killed by a burst from the
enemy gun. By deliberately diverting the attention of the enemy machine
gunners upon himself, a second squad was able to advance, undetected,
and with the help of S/Sgt. Pendleton's squad, neutralized the lone
machinegun, while another platoon of his company advanced up the intersecting
street and knocked out the machinegun nest which the first gun had
been covering. S/Sgt. Pendleton's sacrifice enabled the entire company
to continue the advance and complete their mission at a critical phase
of the action.
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