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Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, 381st Infantry,
96th Infantry Division. Place and date: Okinawa, 13 April 1945. Entered
service at: Soldiers Grove, Wis. Birth: Eagle, Wis.
Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above
and beyond the call of duty. When a powerfully conducted predawn Japanese
counterattack struck his unit's flank, he ordered his men to take cover
in an old tomb, and then, armed only with a carbine, faced the onslaught
alone. After emptying 1 magazine at pointblank range into the screaming
attackers, he seized an enemy mortar dud and threw it back among the charging
Japs, killing several as it burst. Securing a box of mortar shells, he
extracted the safety pins, banged the bases upon a rock to arm them and
proceeded alternately to hurl shells and fire his piece among the fanatical
foe, finally forcing them to withdraw. Despite the protests of his comrades,
and bleeding profusely from a severe shrapnel wound, he made his way to
his company commander to report the action. T/Sgt. Anderson's intrepid
conduct in the face of overwhelming odds accounted for 25 enemy killed
and several machineguns and knee mortars destroyed, thus single-handedly
removing a serious threat to the company's flank.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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