A great story; a remarkable man and a heroic soldier.
Military Ping.
“Crawford’s official Medal of Honor citation reads:
36th Infantry Division shoulder patch.For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943. When Company I attacked an enemy-held position on Hill 424, the 3d Platoon, in which Pvt. Crawford was a squad scout, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machinegun and small-arms fire. Locating 1 of these guns, which was dug in on a terrace on his immediate front, Pvt. Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and single-handedly destroyed the machinegun and killed 3 of the crew with a hand grenade, thus enabling his platoon to continue its advance. When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by enemy fire, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between 2 hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed 1 gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with 1 grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder to flee. Seizing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company’s advance.”
What an awesome story!!!
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Wow! Great story.
Sweet story.
This story was posted here ten or twelve years ago.
I love it. So many lessons, so much to admire.
Tears on my face right now.
Oh man...that brought tears to my eyes.
Yeah I know, just a product of being home skooled.
Best thing I read this week.
A Wonderful Story. Thank You for Posting.
Sorry a pet peeve...should be “an heroic soldier.”
That a certain set of overcompensated, underbrained athletes choose not to respect the heroism that gave them the right to soil their pampers in public is not the issue here. God bless Sergeant Crawford. He and those like him are the issue, and the flag that covered them at their graveside.
Thank you for posting this inspiring story.
Our nation needs to sober up and find unity based on morality and honor.
RE: “A great story; a remarkable man and a heroic soldier.”
Procon, Thank you for posting this about Sergeant William Crawford, a WW 2 medal of honor recipient who continued, quietly, serving his country.
I guess if I had been there I would have felt slightly ashamed to have known that this humble hero was cleaning my floors and bathroom. Makes me wonder if the cadets showed a little more respect to him by keeping the place as clean as possible to reduce his workload.
As my grandkids would say, AWE-mazing!
The 36th Infantry Division (”Arrowhead”), also known as the “Texas Division”, is and was an infantry division of the United States Army, part of the Texas Army National Guard.
Private Crawford’s MoH action happened in the beginning of the fight up the spine of Italy against the Germans. The reason he was ‘slighted’ in the award of the MoH was because he never got it personally! Shortly after this action, he was ‘lost’ in combat and presumed dead, so his award was given posthumously to his father. He was actually captured by German forces and liberated late in 1944.
After the end of the war, he re-enlisted in the US Army and served another 20 years, retiring as a Master Sergeant (E8). It was after his retirement that he started working at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs, Co.
Just a little more of “the rest of the story!”
WOW!! Love that story, reminds me of the movie Heartbreak Ridge, except this is for real.
For the millennial snowflakes out there that aren’t familiar with the Medal of Honor, think “Order of Lenin” and you’ll understand the significance.
Note in the picture of Sgt. Crawford, the blue ‘service ribbon’ at the top and center. That is the Medal of Honor ribbon. In the military, it is the normal order for lower ranks to salute higher ranks and then for the higher ranks to return the recognition. This is reversed for living MoH awardees in uniform, they are saluted first by all ranks and then return the salute! It is not codified but is the very strong tradition for all service branches.
In memory of your service, Master Sergeant William Crawford, USA (ret), a grateful nation (with idiot exceptions) thanks you!