Joseph F. Merrell

Infobox Military Person
name=Joseph F. Merrell
born=birth date|1926|8|21
died=death date and age|1945|4|18|1926|8|21
placeofbirth=Staten Island, New York
placeofdeath=near Lohe, Germany
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=
rank=Private
commands=
unit=15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
battles=World War II
awards=Medal of Honor
relations=
laterwork=

Joseph F. Merrell (August 21, 1926 – April 18, 1945) 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.

Merrell joined the Army from his birthplace of Staten Island in New York City, and by April 18, 1945 was serving as a private in Company I, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On that day, near Lohe, Germany, he single-handedly attacked German positions which were firing on his unit. He disabled two enemy machine gun emplacements and killed nearly two dozen German soldiers before he was himself killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor ten months later, on February 26, 1946.

Merrell, aged 18 at his death, was buried in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, New York.

Medal of Honor citation

Private Merrell's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

He made a gallant, 1-man attack against vastly superior enemy forces near Lohe, Germany. His unit, attempting a quick conquest of hostile hill positions that would open the route to Nuremberg before the enemy could organize his defense of that city, was pinned down by brutal fire from rifles, machine pistols, and 2 heavy machineguns. Entirely on his own initiative, Pvt. Merrell began a single-handed assault. He ran 100 yards through concentrated fire, barely escaping death at each stride, and at pointblank range engaged 4 German machine pistolmen with his rifle, killing all of them while their bullets ripped his uniform. As he started forward again, his rifle was smashed by a sniper's bullet, leaving him armed only with 3 grenades. But he did not hesitate. He zigzagged 200 yards through a hail of bullets to within 10 yards of the first machinegun, where he hurled 2 grenades and then rushed the position ready to fight with his bare hands if necessary. In the emplacement he seized a Luger pistol and killed what Germans had survived the grenade blast. Rearmed, he crawled toward the second machinegun located 30 yards away, killing 4 Germans in camouflaged foxholes on the way, but himself receiving a critical wound in the abdomen. And yet he went on, staggering, bleeding, disregarding bullets which tore through the folds of his clothing and glanced off his helmet. He threw his last grenade into the machinegun nest and stumbled on to wipe out the crew. He had completed this self-appointed task when a machine pistol burst killed him instantly. In his spectacular 1-man attack Pvt. Merrell killed 6 Germans in the first machinegun emplacement, 7 in the next, and an additional 10 infantrymen who were astride his path to the weapons which would have decimated his unit had he not assumed the burden of the assault and stormed the enemy positions with utter fearlessness, intrepidity of the highest order, and a willingness to sacrifice his own life so that his comrades could go on to victory.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients

References

*findagrave|8308268 Retrieved on 2008-01-02

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Medal of Honor Recipients - World War II (M-S)
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date = July 16, 2007
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html
accessdate = 2008-01-02

Persondata
NAME= Merrell, Joseph F.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=