FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Harold O Messerschmidt ~ 15 January 2024

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Harold O. Messerschmidt

Info from here.

here.

           

Harold O. Messerschmidt (October 20, 1923 - September 17, 1944) 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.

Messerschmidt joined the Army from Chester, Pennsylvania in May 1943, and by September 17, 1944 was serving as a Sergeant in Company L, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. During a German attack on that day, near Radden, France, he led and encouraged his men until everyone in his unit had been killed or wounded. Ignoring his own wounds, he continued to fight the enemy force alone in hand to hand combat until he was killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on July 17, 1946.

Messerschmidt, aged 20 or 21 at his death, was buried in Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery, Barnesville, Pennsylvania.

 

Sergeant Messerschmidt's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Braving machinegun, machine pistol, and rifle fire, he moved fearlessly and calmly from man to man along his 40-yard squad front, encouraging each to hold against the overwhelming assault of a fanatical foe surging up the hillside. Knocked to the ground by a burst from an enemy automatic weapon, he immediately jumped to his feet, and ignoring his grave wounds, fired his submachine gun at the enemy that was now upon them, killing 5 and wounding many others before his ammunition was spent. Virtually surrounded by a frenzied foe and all of his squad now casualties, he elected to fight alone, using his empty submachine gun as a bludgeon against his assailants. Spotting 1 of the enemy about to kill a wounded comrade, he felled the German with a blow of his weapon. Seeing friendly reinforcements running up the hill, he continued furiously to wield his empty gun against the foe in a new attack, and it was thus that he made the supreme sacrifice. Sgt. Messerschmidt's sustained heroism in hand-to-hand combat with superior enemy forces was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

 

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! 

 

[SkyDancer]

~ Hai Kathy! (((HUGS))) Just Hangin' Trying To Stay Warm ~

~

~ Welcome To My World ~

I’m Down There Somewhere

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Harold O Messerschmidt ~

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[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, thanks for tonight’s Canteen and for honoring this All-American Hero!

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

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

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

I hope you’ve managed to find some downtime to just chill for a bit this weekend.

It feels and looks like winter here. The snow started falling a few minutes ago. :-(

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

Had a good week and weekend? Did you hang out with Robin and the pups or is it too cold to want to walk out the door?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...are you dealing with more than the cold?

Any ubering lined up?

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy! Thanks for another inspiring bio!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...is your corner of the world dealing with the cold spell, too?

We were pushing freezing+ degrees, but are on our way back to the teens and single digits next weekend.

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[PROCON]

Hiya radu!

Dang, it's been too cold (single-digit temps) to do anything so I've just been hibernating inside and trying to stay warm.

I've got a 23 year old SUV that doesn't want to start in the bitter cold so I need to take care of that this week.

Other than that, nothing new to report, hope all is well with you and the kittehs!

[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, yeah, we're in the Arctic freeze zone too, temps in the single-digits so I've just been hanging out inside keeping warm and hoping the power stays on.

Hope you've had a good weekend!

[Clay Moore]

I bet he had an adventure sending mail home during the war. I had 3 uncles that served in WWII whose last name was also a geographical location so the censors delayed their mail trying to figure out if it was some sort of coded message.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...stay warm. It’s snowing at your house!!!

Hope it doesn’t last too long.

I don’t know when, but we had a dusting as my deck is all white, but not really enough to shovel. Duck prints everywhere on the deck. I’ve been throwing out peanuts, too, for the blue jays and magpies.

I put 6 on the “counter” just outside the door. An “old” blue jay was there immediately and was so fun to watch. He picked up each peanut, and set it down to try the next, at least 2 times before he found the one he really wanted.

[The Mayor]

January 15

Serving Others for Jesus

Bible in a Year :

• Genesis 36–38
• Matthew 10:21–42

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.

Mark 10:43 Actress Nichelle Nichols is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek series. Landing the role was a personal win for Nichols, making her one of the first African American women on a major TV show. But a greater win was to come of it.

Nichols had actually resigned from Star Trek after its first season, to return to her theater work. But then she met Martin Luther King Jr., who urged her not to leave. For the first time, he said, African Americans were being seen on TV as intelligent people who could do anything, even go to space. By playing Lieutenant Uhura, Nichols was achieving a greater win—showing Black women and children what they could become.

It reminds me of the time James and John asked Jesus for the two best positions in His kingdom (Mark 10:37). What personal wins such positions would be! Jesus not only explained the painful realities of their request (vv. 38–40) but called them to higher goals, saying, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (v. 43). His followers weren’t to seek personal wins alone but, like Him, use their positions to serve others (v. 45).

Nichelle Nichols stayed with Star Trek for the greater win it provided for African Americans. May we too never be content with a personal win alone but use whatever position we gain to serve others in His name. .

Reflect & Pray

What are your current personal and career goals? What doors could you open for others right now?

Dear Jesus, show me how to use my position to serve others in Your name.

[radu]

BRRRRRRRRRR! I figured it was cold up there but didn’t know it was that cold. Yep, staying in and hiberating’s the way to go with that kind of weather. LOL
I hope you can get your SUV’s problems dealt with so you’ll have something to drive if you need to get out.

Looks like I’m in for the next week. The snow started falling around an hour ago. This is the warm-up and the main event is all day tomorrow. Oddly, the heaviest snow will be here in the southern part of the state rather than north. And they keep upping the expectations for accumulation. GRRRRRR

We only have one day above freezing - barely - and nights will be frigid, with a couple of them having single-digit lows. So the snow won’t melt any time soon. And since the road I live on is on a slope, I won’t be going anywhere until it does melt. Gonna be a long, boring week.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mooch...glad you enjoyed his story.

Are you getting any of the ugly weather? Stay safe!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...is the nasty storm going to envelop you? Or pass you by?

[radu]

Hey there, Kathy.

Yep, it’s snowing here and I’m not happy about it. It’s going to snow through tomorrow and last update was we can expect 7 inches or more here. That’s unusual for here, though it was typical when I was a kid and a teen. It still happens every few years and we’ve been overdue for it.
I’d prefer it had come with a shorter-lasting cold blast though. This isn’t going to melt for a week.

You had some light snow in the wee hours of the morning and didn’t fall all that long. I was glad to see that because you don’t need ANY more snow!

Silly birds. They can be entertaining to watch. It sounds like that jay was a picky one. At least he found a peanut that suited him. LOL