Medal of Honor: Cecil H. Bolton – World War II – November 2, 1944

Name: Cecil H. Bolton
Rank: First Lieutenant
Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: Company E, 413th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division
Born: Crawfordsville, Florida
Entered Service At: Huntsville, Alabama

Summary of Action

On the cold night of November 2, 1944, near the Mark River in Holland, First Lieutenant Cecil Bolton led the weapons platoon of Company E as it fought to secure a bridgehead under intense German fire. When two enemy machine guns halted the company’s advance, Bolton directed mortar fire despite the moonlight exposing his position. A shell exploded nearby, wounding him severely in both legs and knocking him unconscious.

Regaining consciousness, he refused evacuation. Instead, he crawled forward through the mud and freezing water, rallying a two-man bazooka team to follow him. Creeping chest-deep through the canal, Bolton reached a German machine gun nest inside a farmhouse. He charged alone, killed the gunners with grenades, and immediately led his small team through open fire toward the second machine gun. When a sniper tried to block their advance, Bolton shot him dead, then helped destroy the second gun crew with carbine fire.

Still bleeding, he pressed on — spotting an 88mm gun pounding his company’s lines. Wading through icy water again, he directed the bazooka fire that silenced the gun for good. Only after completing the mission did he order his men back to safety, refusing medical aid and crawling the last yards to his own lines before collapsing.

His leadership, sheer determination, and refusal to yield under agony allowed his company to advance and secure the objective that night.

Medal of Honor Citation

BOLTON, CECIL H.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company E, 413th Infantry, 104th Infantry Division.
Place and date: Mark River, Holland, 2 November 1944.
Entered service at: Huntsville, Ala.
Birth: Crawfordsville, Fla.
G.O. No.: 74, 1 September 1945.

Citation:
As leader of the weapons platoon of Company E, 413th Infantry, on the night of 2 November 1944, he fought gallantly in a pitched battle which followed the crossing of the Mark River in Holland. When 2 machineguns pinned down his company, he tried to eliminate, with mortar fire, their grazing fire which was inflicting serious casualties and preventing the company’s advance from an area rocked by artillery shelling. In the moonlight it was impossible for him to locate accurately the enemy’s camouflaged positions; but he continued to direct fire until wounded severely in the legs and rendered unconscious by a German shell. When he recovered consciousness he instructed his unit and then crawled to the forward rifle platoon positions. Taking a two-man bazooka team on his voluntary mission, he advanced chest deep in chilling water along a canal toward 1 enemy machinegun. While the bazooka team covered him, he approached alone to within 15 yards of the hostile emplacement in a house. He charged the remaining distance and killed the 2 gunners with hand grenades. Returning to his men he led them through intense fire over open ground to assault the second German machinegun. An enemy sniper who tried to block the way was dispatched, and the trio pressed on. When discovered by the machinegun crew and subjected to direct fire, 1st Lt. Bolton killed 1 of the 3 gunners with carbine fire, and his 2 comrades shot the others. Continuing to disregard his wounds, he led the bazooka team toward an 88-mm. artillery piece which was having telling effect on the American ranks, and approached once more through icy canal water until he could dimly make out the gun’s silhouette. Under his fire direction, the two soldiers knocked out the enemy weapon with rockets. On the way back to his own lines he was again wounded. To prevent his men being longer subjected to deadly fire, he refused aid and ordered them back to safety, painfully crawling after them until he reached his lines, where he collapsed. 1st Lt. Bolton’s heroic assaults in the face of vicious fire, his inspiring leadership, and continued aggressiveness even through suffering from serious wounds, contributed in large measure to overcoming strong enemy resistance and made it possible for his battalion to reach its objective.