FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: John R Fox ~ 27 January 2025

Serving the Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

Our Troops Rock!  Thank you for all you do!

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served
in The United States Armed Forces.

Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States
Armed Forces Today!

---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

John R. Fox
Info from here.

           

John Robert Fox (May 18, 1915 December 26, 1944) was killed in action when he deliberately called for artillery fire on his own position, after his position was overrun, in order to defeat a German attack in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, northern Italy during World War II. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 1997, for willingly sacrificing his life.

Fox was born in Cincinnati, Ohio May 18, 1915, and attended Wilberforce University, participating in ROTC under Aaron R. Fisher and graduating with an commission of second lieutenant in 1940. He was 29 years old when he called artillery fire on his own position the day after Christmas in 1944, for which he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1982. More than fifty years after his death, Fox was awarded the Medal of Honor. He is buried in Colebrook Cemetery in Whitman, Massachusetts.

In the early 1990s it was determined that African-American soldiers were denied consideration for the Medal of Honor solely due to their race. After a review, seven African-American soldiers had their Medals upgraded in January, 1997, to the Medal of Honor; First Lieutenant Fox was one of the seven.

The 92nd Infantry Division (colored), known as the Buffalo Soldiers, was a segregated African American division that fought in World War II. First Lieutenant John R. Fox was of the 366th Infantry Regiment when he made the ultimate sacrifice in order to defeat the enemy and save the lives of his fellow soldiers. In December 1944, Fox was part of a small forward observer party that volunteered to stay behind in the Italian village of Sommocolonia, in the Serchio River Valley. American forces had been forced to withdraw from the village after it had been overrun by the enemy. From his position on the second floor of a house, Fox directed defensive artillery fire.

The enemy was in the streets and attacking in strength, greatly outnumbering the small group of American soldiers. Fox radioed in to have the artillery fire adjusted closer to his position, then radioed again to have the shelling moved even closer. The soldier receiving the message was stunned, for that would bring the deadly fire right on top of Fox s position; there was no way he would survive. When Fox was told this, he replied, Fire it. This shelling delayed the enemy advance until other units could reorganize to repel the attack.

His action permitted U.S. forces, who had been forced to withdraw, to organize a counterattack and regain control of the village. After the units had retaken the village, they found Fox s body along with the bodies of about one hundred enemy soldiers.

After the war the citizens of Sommocolonia, Italy, erected a monument to nine men who were killed during the artillery barrage - eight Italian soldiers, and Lieutenant Fox.

In 2005, the toy company Hasbro introduced a 12-inch action figure & commemorating Lt. John R. Fox as part of its G.I. Joe series.

For his "gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life, Fox was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His widow, the former Arlene Marrow of Brockton, Massachusetts, received his medal from President Bill Clinton in a White House ceremony on January 13, 1997. On that day, Clinton also awarded the medal to six other previously neglected African American World War II veterans, including Vernon Baker, who was the only one living when awarded.

Citation:

For extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy on 26 December 1944, while serving as a member of Cannon Company, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92d Infantry Division. During the preceding few weeks, Lieutenant Fox served with the 598th Field Artillery Battalion as a forward observer. On Christmas night, enemy soldiers gradually infiltrated the town of Sommocolonia in civilian clothes, and by early morning the town was largely in hostile hands. Commencing with a heavy barrage of enemy artillery at 0400 hours on 26 December 1944, an organized attack by uniformed German units began. Being greatly outnumbered, most of the United States Infantry forces were forced to withdraw from the town, but Lieutenant Fox and some other members of his observer party voluntarily remained on the second floor of a house to direct defensive artillery fire. At 0800 hours, Lieutenant Fox reported that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength. He then called for defensive artillery fire to slow the enemy advance. As the Germans continued to press the attack towards the area that Lieutenant Fox occupied, he adjusted the artillery fire closer to his position. Finally he was warned that the next adjustment would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position. After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox insisted that the last adjustment be fired as this was the only way to defeat the attacking soldiers. Later, when a counterattack retook the position from the Germans, Lieutenant Fox's body was found with the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers. Lieutenant Fox's gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life, contributed greatly to delaying the enemy advance until other infantry and artillery units could reorganize to repel the attack. His extraordinary valorous actions were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.

 

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! 

[Huskrrrr]

Thanks, Kathy.

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

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

THANK YOU
for your service!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Ya reckon the wind is EVER going to stop roaring up there? It’s crazy. Watching planes land at Stevens this afternoon made my stomach lurch, they were rocking so hard. Yeowy!!

[PROCON]

Good evening, Kathy, thanks for honoring tonight’s Hero!

[PROCON]

Hiya radu, hope all is well your way, very cold here, teens at night but thankfully no snow.

Felt well enough to visit Robin and the pups today, even did a bit of grocery shopping afterwards!

[Kathy in Alaska]

25th time a charm? Major high winds flickering power off and on.

~ Hall of Heroes: John R Fox ~

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREADS

CLICK FOR Current local times around the world

CLICK FOR local times in Seoul, Baghdad, Kabul,
New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage

To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and everyone of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.

The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running daily thread
specifically designed to provide entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

NOTE: CANTEEN MUSIC
Posted daily and on the Music Thread
for the enjoyment of our troops and visitors.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Huskrrrr...terrible high winds here and the power keeps flickering off and on.

[SkyDancer]

~Janey’s Page~ Hi and Welcome

Just a little about me. I've been flying since I was 14, and now I do flight instruction, am a Captain for an executive Bizjet company flying Cessna Citations.

~ This Is Home ~

~ Comforting The Grieving ~

~ "In prayer we laid before G-d our suffering, our rage, our filth, our fatigue,our exposure, our hunger, and our misery " - Aime Bonifasi~

Abandoned children - Warsaw Ghetto - 1941

~ Child Hit With Rock By Palestinian Rioters ~

~ With Us It's Never An Accident ~

~ Super Girl - The Early Years ~

~ You Are ~ "Supergirl"

Supergirl		85%
Wonder Woman		80%
The Flash		70%
Superman		65%
Robin		62%
Spider-Man		55%
Green Lantern		50%
Hulk		45%
Iron Man		35%
Catwoman		20%
Batman		15%

Lean, Muscular And Feminine.
Honest And A Defender Of The Innocent

~Janey ~

This Is Who You Are

You are incredibly sexy. There's no way you could hide it, so you just flaunt it. You are a naturally talented flirt. You make everyone feel fascinating and attractive. You have a wild streak. You like to have fun, and your idea of fun is pretty outrageous. You dare to be yourself and live life courageously. People respect you for it. You are totally spontaneous and unpredictable. Even your best friend doesn't know what you'll be up to next.

You are full of joy and enthusiasm for life. You love adventures, and you always want to include your friends in your plans. You are usually the one who brings the fun. Nothing can be boring when you're around. You are flexible and easygoing. You're willing to go along with almost anything! You are an amazing friend - you are the perfect mix of fun and loyalty.

You believe in yourself and in others. You think the world is a bright and brilliant place. You are a positive thinker and a total optimist. You believe it's important to dream big. You are very liable and charming. People know they're going to have a blast when you're around.

You Are an Adventurous Valentine Your heart soars whenever you have the chance to do something new, and that goes double for Valentine's Day. You would love excitement and novelty to celebrate this special day. You especially love surprises! Your ideal Valentine's Day is unconventional, quirky, and not traditionally romantic by any means. You don't like a lot of pressure on V-Day.

You just want to have some fun! Compared to most people, you are very active and energetic. You have a daring, challenging spirit. You're willing to go into something blind. You are playful, carefree, and optimistic. You are up for trying anything. If you dream it, you usually end up doing it. You're not one for putting your dreams on hold.

You are down to earth, well grounded, and practical. Some may even call you sensible. You say what you mean and you mean what you say. You're straight shooting and honest. It's likely that you're more of a productive type than a creative type. You enjoy working hard. You live in the now and enjoy every moment. You appreciate what you've got, and you're also very humble about what you deserve.

~ Live your life in such a way that the Westboro church will want to picket your funeral ~

~ Have A Nice Day!!! ~

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu....what a day! I haven’t heard wind for about 5 minutes now, and no flickers either. I sure hope it’s done.

Are you warming up? Getting rain?

I lied....it’s back!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...hope your icy conditons are improving.

High winds just will not stop...so far all the trees are still standing. My street and back yard have been scoured clean of ice.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Sure glad I wasn’t on one of those planes. God Bless the excellent pilots!!!!

[luvie]

Lt. John Robert Fox
May 18, 1915 - December 26, 1944
Part of Buffalo Soldiers Division
KIA when he deliberately called for artillery fire on his own position,
after his position was overrun, in order to defeat a German attack
in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy during World War II.
Posthumous Medal of Honor recipient in 1997,
for willingly sacrificing his life.
One of seven black soldiers to be honored.
God rest his soul. What a hero he was!

[radu]

Howdy, PRO!!

So glad to hear you’re feeling that much better. Bet it was nice getting out to do your normal weekend things. And I’ll bet the silly pups were real happy to see you again. Did the little wild man put on a good show or has he toned down a little with time? LOL

Things are going well enough here. Been TOO DARN COLD the past week but we’re finally enjoying more moderate temps for the next week or so. We had a couple of nightly lows close to zero, and the wind chill WAS below zero. That’s not normal here!
The weekend was pretty much wasted, sitting here waiting for the phone repairman to show up. It works but there’s a loud hum and I can barely hear who I’m talking to.
The guy showed up at 6:00 tonight and can’t fix the problem. It’s somewhere in the main lines out along the roads and he’s not authorized to work on those. At least I don’t need to be home for that work and can get things done tomorrow.

I hope your temps moderate soon. We expect cold during winter but this bitter cold stuff needs to stay up in the Arctic. :-)

[radu]

Hey there, Kathy.

A day? It’s been wild up there all weekend. LOL It’s been almost impossible to watch the LH cam for very long because the cam’s shaken so much.

Bummer that you were teased, think it was finally dying down. I hope the trees around your house hold up!

[radu]

I’ll bet the pilots wished they weren’t on the planes too! LOL Whew, it was unnerving to watch them rock like that. One pilot did abort landing and circled around. He made it down on the second try.

[ExTexasRedhead]

What Happens When You Mess With the USA

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-5-M—xMEnI

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Hope your day was a good one.
Pretty boring here but at least it wasn’t cold. And we’re getting a little rain tonight.

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

It was a good day. Two good sermons with a nap in between. Good day. It was quite a bit chillier than yesterday, but not awful.

Sorry you were bored, but it’s good that it wasn’t cold for a change. I’m surprised you didn’t decide to go somewhere. Hope the rain helps with the drought situation there.

We’re supposed to get some rain in the next 3 days or so. “Supposed to.” Not holding MY breath. LOL! I’ve heard these promises before.