George Peterson-Margraten, Limburg, Netherlands
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 50° 48.990 E 005° 48.324
31U E 697613 N 5633170
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient for action near Eisern, Germany on March 30, 1945. He was killed in action. He is buried in Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands in Section D, Row 21, Site 10.
Waymark Code: WMXCC7
Location: Limburg, Netherlands
Date Posted: 12/26/2017
Views: 11
He was born in Brooklyn NY (date unknown) and died on March 30, 1945 in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. His Medal of Honor information and citation is: *PETERSON, GEORGE
• Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division
• Place and date: Near Eisern, Germany, 30 March 1945
• Entered service at: Brooklyn, N.Y.
• G.O. No.: 88, 17 October 1945
Citation: He was an acting platoon sergeant with Company K, near Eisern, Germany. When his company encountered an enemy battalion and came under heavy small-arms, machinegun, and mortar fire, the 2d Platoon was given the mission of flanking the enemy positions while the remaining units attacked frontally. S/Sgt. Peterson crept and crawled to a position in the lead and motioned for the 2d Platoon to follow. A mortar shell fell close by and severely wounded him in the legs, but, although bleeding and suffering intense pain, he refused to withdraw and continued forward. Two hostile machineguns went into action at close range. Braving this grazing fire, he crawled steadily toward the guns and worked his way alone to a shallow draw, where, despite the hail of bullets, he raised himself to his knees and threw a grenade into the nearest machinegun nest, silencing the weapon and killing or wounding all its crew. The second gun was immediately turned on him, but he calmly and deliberately threw a second grenade which rocked the position and killed all 4 Germans who occupied it. As he continued forward he was spotted by an enemy rifleman, who shot him in the arm. Undeterred, he crawled some 20 yards until a third machinegun opened fire on him. By almost superhuman effort, weak from loss of blood and suffering great pain, he again raised himself to his knees and fired a grenade from his rifle, killing 3 of the enemy guncrew and causing the remaining one to flee. With the first objective seized, he was being treated by the company aid man when he observed 1 of his outpost men seriously wounded by a mortar burst. He wrenched himself from the hands of the aid man and began to crawl forward to assist his comrade, whom he had almost reached when he was struck and fatally wounded by an enemy bullet. S/Sgt. Peterson, by his gallant, intrepid actions, unrelenting fighting spirit, and outstanding initiative, silenced 3 enemy machineguns against great odds and while suffering from severe wounds, enabling his company to advance with minimum casualties.
Armed Service: Army
|
Visit Instructions:
To properly log your find, post a photograph of the medal recipient's grave marker. Do not place anything on the grave when taking the photo. If you have more information about the recipient please include it in your log.