FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Herschel Briles ~ 20 November 2017

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Herschel F. Briles

Story from this website.

           

Herschel F. Briles (February 7, 1914 – July 17, 1994) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Briles joined the Army from Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and by November 20, 1944 was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company C, 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion. On that day, near Scherpenseel, Germany, he left cover to rescue the wounded crew of a burning tank destroyer and extinguish the vehicle's flames. The next day, he single-handedly forced the surrender of fifty-five German soldiers and again left cover to reach a burning tank destroyer, rescue its crew, and put out the flames. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on September 10, 1945.

Briles reached the rank of first sergeant before leaving the Army.

He died at age 80 and was buried in Waveland Cemetery, Prairie City, Iowa.

Briles' official Medal of Honor citation reads:

    He was leading a platoon of destroyers across an exposed slope near Scherpenseel, Germany, on 20 November 1944, when they came under heavy enemy artillery fire. A direct hit was scored on 1 of the vehicles, killing 1 man, seriously wounding 2 others, and setting the destroyer afire. With a comrade, S/Sgt. Briles left the cover of his own armor and raced across ground raked by artillery and small-arms fire to the rescue of the men in the shattered destroyer. Without hesitation, he lowered himself into the burning turret, removed the wounded and then extinguished the fire. From a position he assumed the next morning, he observed hostile infantrymen advancing. With his machinegun, he poured such deadly fire into the enemy ranks that an entire pocket of 55 Germans surrendered, clearing the way for a junction between American units which had been held up for 2 days. Later that day, when another of his destroyers was hit by a concealed enemy tank, he again left protection to give assistance. With the help of another soldier, he evacuated two wounded under heavy fire and, returning to the burning vehicle, braved death from exploding ammunition to put out the flames. By his heroic initiative and complete disregard for personal safety, S/Sgt. Briles was largely responsible for causing heavy enemy casualties, forcing the surrender of 55 Germans, making possible the salvage of our vehicles, and saving the lives of wounded comrades.

Thank you sir, for your service and sacrifice for our country!

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[left that other site]

here is where we ate:

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-charred-oak-tavern-middleboro?adjust_creative=dWJMtmYxpd5N5yoyzSuhtA&utm_campaign=yelp_api&utm_medium=api_v2_business&utm_source=dWJMtmYxpd5N5yoyzSuhtA

Tres Chic! Cost me a bit, but Blue is safe for the winter, thanks to my sibs.

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Herschel Briles ~

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[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Publius...thanks for the additional information.

Ready for the new week? Traveling?

[Publius]

No. Home this week.

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

Have a good day? All rested up now?

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Wow! Four days off? How did that happen? LOL!
You won’t know what to do with yourself with that much free time. :-)

[PROCON]

Hi radu!

Yup, all recovered and rested. I have an adjusted work schedule this week, work Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

I went over to see the pups and the boy today, not much else my way.

You and the kittehs surviving?

[radu]

You’d better duck! LOL

You could share a few degrees with ML and with me and still be plenty comfy. :-)

Any plans for Thanksgiving?

[radu]

I wondered of you were going to have to skip your Thurs. runs this week or if you’d work Tues. or Sat. to get everything done.

The lil wild man still behaving himself?

I went to see a friend this afternoon who does beautiful work with wood. I’d seen a few pieces in exhibits but he has so much he doesn’t show. So he invited me for a little tour through the house to see more. I drooled the whole time because his furniture, clocks, boxes, and other items are stunning.
He and my dad were friends as they worked together for several years. A nice gentleman and we had a pleasant visit.

Went to see Clara afterwards but she was asleep so after checking up on her with the nurses, I came home.

Kittehs stayed inside today. Too cold!

[luvie]

Herschel F. Briles
February 7, 1914 – July 17, 1994
United States Army
Thanks, hero!

TAPS

[luvie]

Howdy, radu!

Did you have a good day today? Was it cold there like it was here? Hope you didn’t have to get out for anything.

[luvie]

Howdy, radu!

Did you have a good day today? Was it cold there like it was here? Hope you didn’t have to get out for anything.

Harriet has her first egg!! WooHoo!

[PROCON]

The little guy is behaving better but when you first walk through the front door, he wants to be greeted FIRST, LOL, although I great and pet the older dogs before him. He hates it but when it's finally his turn he gives you lots of loving, LOL.

He still is all puppy though.

[radu]

Howdy, LUV!

Yes, it was a pretty good day. Just told PRO about it in post #30. Easier than typing it all out again. LOL

And yes, it’s cold. The wind finally died down just before sunset, which is good. It had a nasty bite to it. BRRRRR!

I haven’t checked on that nest yet. I keep forgetting that the FL eagles start so early. WOOHOO Harriet!

How did it go with the nurse this morning? Are y’all more comfortable now with knowing what needs to be done on your part?

[radu]

You meanie! LOL!

Glad the obedience training has finally sunk in. Makes it much more fun to be around the lil feller when he isn’t going bonkers. He sounded like a real handful for while there.

[luvie]

I’ll read the post. LOL!

It did help to talk to them. She went over all her meds, etc. They are going to try to get a hoist to get her up and down.

Hubby tried to lift her from the wheelchair to the bed yesterday and from the potty to the bed this morning, He couldn’t lift her high enough and missed the edge of the bed so she slid slowly to the floor. It wouldn’t have been too bad, but her legs are totally useless plus they are swollen and in horrible pain, so I’m sure it hurt her. This morning, he absolutely couldn’t raise her from the floor [we had made her as comfortable as possible, with a pillow behind her back] so we had to call paramedics to do it. Strangely enough, it was her idea.

He is either going to ruin his back or have a heart attack as it’s very hard work. She weighs way more than when she was here last time

We found a workaround tonight but we can’t keep doing the wrong things. She’s so sweet and patient with us total amateurs.

[Publius]

I’ll just make one of my pasta dishes. I tried turkey for one a few years ago, and it didn’t turn out all that well.

[radu]

Gosh, be careful! Y’all don’t need to hurt yourselves trying to lift her. I hope they can get a hoist there quickly.

Glad the nurse was able to give you info that was helpful. I’d say it’s a little unnerving taking on this responsibility and I hope you’re more comfortable now.

[radu]

When I was single, that’s usually what I’d whip up. Easy to make and they make great leftovers. They taste better after blending. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Just a simple meal for us. No turkey since Hubby won’t eat poultry. I hoped he’d want a Honey Baked Ham this year so I wouldn’t have to cook. Just get some sides from them too. LOL! But he wants a cola roast instead so I’ll throw a couple of sides together to go with it. Just the two of us so no need to go wild with a lot of baking.