Nelson V. Brittin

Nelson V. Brittin
Medal of Honor recipient
Born	October 31, 1920(1920-10-31) Audubon, New Jersey
Died	March 7, 1951(1951-03-07) (aged 30) Vicinity of Yonggong-ni, Korea
Place of burial	Beverly National Cemetery Beverly, New Jersey
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Sergeant First Class
Unit	Company I, 19th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Korean War
Awards	Medal of Honor Purple Heart

Nelson V. Brittin (October 31, 1920 – March 7, 1951) was a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. He received the Medal of Honor dated February 1, 1952, for his actions on March 7, 1951.

Brittin is buried in Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey.

Awards and decorations

Britton's awards include:

•   Medal of Honor

•   Purple Heart

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class

U.S. Army, Company I, 19th Infantry Regiment

Place and date: Vicinity of Yonggong-ni, Korea, March 7, 1951

Entered service at: Audubon, NJ Birth: Audubon, NJ

G.O. No.: 12, February 1, 1952.

Citation:

Sfc. Brittin, a member of Company I, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. Volunteering to lead his squad up a hill, with meager cover against murderous fire from the enemy, he ordered his squad to give him support and, in the face of withering fire and bursting shells, he tossed a grenade at the nearest enemy position. On returning to his squad, he was knocked down and wounded by an enemy grenade. Refusing medical attention, he replenished his supply of grenades and returned, hurling grenades into hostile positions and shooting the enemy as they fled. When his weapon jammed, he leaped without hesitation into a foxhole and killed the occupants with his bayonet and the butt of his rifle. He continued to wipe out foxholes and, noting that his squad had been pinned down, he rushed to the rear of a machine gun position, threw a grenade into the nest, and ran around to its front, where he killed all 3 occupants with his rifle. Less than 100 yards up the hill, his squad again came under vicious fire from another camouflaged, sandbagged, machine gun nest well-flanked by supporting riflemen. Sfc. Brittin again charged this new position in an aggressive endeavor to silence this remaining obstacle and ran direct into a burst of automatic fire which killed him instantly. In his sustained and driving action, he had killed 20 enemy soldiers and destroyed 4 automatic weapons. The conspicuous courage, consummate valor, and noble self-sacrifice displayed by Sfc. Brittin enabled his inspired company to attain its objective and reflect the highest glory on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.^[1]

See also

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients

Notes

1. ^ ""NELSON V. BRITTIN" entry". Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/koreanwar.html. Retrieved 2007-12-30. 

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

• ""NELSON V. BRITTIN" entry". Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/koreanwar.html. Retrieved 2007-12-30. 

Persondata
Name	Brittin, Nelson V.
Alternative names
Short description	United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
Date of birth	October 31, 1920
Place of birth	Audubon, New Jersey
Date of death	March 7, 1951
Place of death	Vicinity of Yonggong-ni, Korea