John R. Crews

Infobox Military Person
name=John R. Crews
born= Birth date|1923|3|8
died= death date and age|1999|9|25|1923|3|8
placeofbirth= Golden, Oklahoma
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=
rank=Staff Sergeant
commands=
unit=253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division
battles=World War II
awards=Medal of Honor
relations=
laterwork=

John R. Crews (March 8, 1923 – September 25, 1999) 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.

Biography

Crews joined the Army from Bowlegs, Oklahoma, and by April 8, 1945 was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company F, 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. On that day, near Lobenbacherhof, Germany, Crews single-handedly destroyed two German emplacements.

Crews died at age 76 and was buried in Resthaven Gardens Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Medal of Honor citation

Staff Sergeant Crews' official Medal of Honor citation reads:

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 8 April 1945 near Lobenbacherhof, Germany. As his company was advancing toward the village under heavy fire, an enemy machinegun and automatic rifle with rifle support opened upon it from a hill on the right flank. Seeing that his platoon leader had been wounded by their fire, S/Sgt. Crews, acting on his own initiative, rushed the strongpoint with 2 men of his platoon. Despite the fact that 1 of these men was killed and the other was badly wounded, he continued his advance up the hill in the face of terrific enemy fire. Storming the well-dug-in position single-handedly, he killed 2 of the crew of the machinegun at pointblank range with his M 1 rifle and wrested the gun from the hands of the German whom he had already wounded. He then with his rifle charged the strongly emplaced automatic rifle. Although badly wounded in the thigh by crossfire from the remaining enemy, he kept on and silenced the entire position with his accurate and deadly rifle fire. His actions so unnerved the remaining enemy soldiers that 7 of them surrendered and the others fled. His heroism caused the enemy to concentrate on him and permitted the company to move forward into the village.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II

References

*cite web
publisher = Crews family member
title = John R. Crews American Hero
date = January 17, 2008
url = http://www.johnrcrews.com
accessdate = 2008-01-17

*findagrave|7840250 Retrieved on 2007-10-15

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Medal of Honor Recipients - World War II (A-F)
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date = July 16, 2007
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/wwII-a-f.html
accessdate = 2007-10-15

Persondata
NAME= Crews, John R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=