FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Herschel F Briles ~ 27 October 2025

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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!

[lightman]

Amazing heroism!

Thank you for keeping his memory before us.

[PROCON]

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

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Herschel F Briles ~

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[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

A true hero for sure. Good evening, lghtman.

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

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

THANK YOU
for your service!

[SkyDancer]

~ Evening All! ~

~

~ Welcome To My World ~

I’m Down There Somewhere

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro...he was certainly a real hero.

[luvie]

Herschel F. Briles
February 7, 1914 – July 17, 1994
United States Army soldier
And Medal of Honor recipient
—for his actions in World War II.
How brave he was. May he RIP ❤️🇺🇸💙

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Glad to see the snow stopped. Still not a pretty day but it’s dry. A good day for a lap blankie and maybe some hot cocoa. LOL

[radu]

Howdy, PRO.

Not been a very pretty weekend up there. Did y’all get the crazy wind with it that they got in OR or were you spared that “fun”?

[PROCON]

Hiya radu!

We had a smooth weather weekend, all of the bad weather was west of the Cascade mountains where the high winds knocked their power out.

I got around to visiting Robin and the pups today and took son out for lunch on his Birthday.

I hope your weekend was great!

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Your alarm still alive and kickin’? :-)

Still comfy there?
Cloudy and cool here and I got ripped off on rain this afternoon. Just a drizzle. Another round is coming through tonight and I might get something from it.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...

High in the mid 30s today. A coworker had a bit of snow in Wasilla.

[MoochPooch]

Evening, Kathy. Thanks for another heroic bio!

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

It barely made it. I didn’t sleep well, so I was very tired when I got up with the alarm. Still tired!

It was nice, but it did get up to 82° this afternoon. Right now it’s 66. Darn! Sorry you got ripped for rain, but hopefully this next time you’ll get some. Since all the crops are in, it can let go just any time, right! LOL!

[radu]

How did you get so lucky? Rain’s moving into ID tonight and I figured you got hit as it passed through.
I talked to a friend who lives in Portland yesterday and he said the winds were horrendous. Glad you missed out on it.

Sounds like a nice weekend you had. Hope you son enjoyed his birthday.

I stayed in because they were here harvesting the cotton. My sinuses are trashed. It’s raining now and that should clear the air.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...my snowbird neighbors are getting ready to head to AZ.

[radu]

Yeeeeeeeaaaaaah, I saw it as a bit nippy up there today. I see snow spitting at Lake Hood right now.
So Wasilla got some accumulation today?