In times of war, acts of heroism were performed when men sacrificed their lives for a platoon of soldiers, or even one man, who was wounded by enemy fire!
On October 6, 1944, Lieutenant General Alexander M. Patch, Seventh Army Commander, placed the Congressional Medal of Honor on 2nd Lieutenant Van T. Barfoot of Carthage, Mississippi, in a ceremony in Epinal, France.
The reason for this great decoration of one of the military’s highest honors for heroism, was because on May 23, 1944, in the heat of battle on the beach head at Anzio, Italy, Lt. Barfoot killed 7 Germans, wounded a number of others, captured 17 more, broke up a counter attack by knocking out an enemy tank with a bazooka, demolished a German field piece, and helped two wounded soldiers to safety! A great accomplishment of heroism in the course of his duty as a soldier, for the sake of his fellow soldiers, for the sake of the war, for the sake of his country!