Medal of Honor: Forrest E. Everhart – World War II – November 12, 1944
In the cold predawn of France, as tanks rolled and machine guns fell silent, one man stood alone against the German tide. Technical Sergeant Forrest E. Everhart fought with fire, grenades, and sheer will — holding the line when no one else could.
November 12, 2025
Name: Forrest Eugene Everhart
Rank: Technical Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army, Company H, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Near Kerling, France – 12 November 1944
Entered Service At: Texas City, Texas
Born: August 28, 1912 – Bainbridge, Ohio
Departed: August 30, 1986
Accredited To: Ohio
General Orders No.: 77, War Department, 10 September 1945
Summary of Action
Before dawn on November 12, 1944, the men of Company H, 359th Infantry, were clinging to a fragile bridgehead near Kerling, France. The Moselle River crossing had cost blood to secure, and now the Germans were throwing everything they had at it — tanks, self-propelled guns, and waves of infantry determined to crush the foothold.
When the left flank collapsed under the assault, Technical Sergeant Forrest Everhart sprinted 400 yards through a storm of artillery and mortar fire to reach a single surviving machine gun position. Only one gunner remained alive. Together, the two men poured fire into the advancing German ranks until the attackers swarmed within grenade range.
Leaving the gun, Everhart charged forward, hurling grenades in a deadly back-and-forth duel that lasted fifteen minutes. When the smoke cleared, thirty enemy soldiers lay dead, and the flank was still in American hands.
Without pause, Everhart dashed across the battlefield again — this time to his right flank, where another machine gun crew was under threat. Rallying his exhausted men, he seized the initiative, firing point-blank into the enemy and again meeting them head-on in brutal close combat. For thirty more minutes, he fought with grenades and small arms until the Germans broke and fell back, leaving twenty more of their dead behind.
By morning, the bridgehead still stood — thanks largely to one man’s refusal to yield. Technical Sergeant Forrest E. Everhart’s fearless leadership and unshakable courage turned the tide of battle and earned him the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Near Kerling, France, 12 November 1944.
Entered service at: Texas City, Tex.
Birth: Bainbridge, Ohio.
G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945.
Citation:
He commanded a platoon that bore the brunt of a desperate enemy counterattack near Kerling, France, before dawn on 12 November 1944. When German tanks and self-propelled guns penetrated his left flank and overwhelming infantry forces threatened to overrun the 1 remaining machinegun in that section, he ran 400 yards through woods churned by artillery and mortar concentrations to strengthen the defense. With the 1 remaining gunner, he directed furious fire into the advancing hordes until they swarmed close to the position. He left the gun, boldly charged the attackers and, after a 15-minute exchange of hand grenades, forced them to withdraw leaving 30 dead behind. He re-crossed the fire-swept terrain to his then threatened right flank, exhorted his men and directed murderous fire from the single machinegun at that position. There, in the light of bursting mortar shells, he again closed with the enemy in a hand grenade duel and, after a fierce 30-minute battle, forced the Germans to withdraw leaving another 20 dead. The gallantry and intrepidity of T/Sgt. Everhart in rallying his men and refusing to fall back in the face of terrible odds were highly instrumental in repelling the fanatical enemy counterattack directed at the American bridgehead across the Moselle River.
