Name: Foster Joseph Sayers
Rank: Private First Class
Organization: U.S. Army, Company L, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Near Thionville, France – 12 November 1944
Entered Service At: Howard, Pennsylvania
Born: April 27, 1924 – Marsh Creek, Pennsylvania
Departed: November 12, 1944 (Killed in Action)
Accredited To: Pennsylvania
General Orders No.: 89, War Department, 19 October 1945
Summary of Action
It was a bitter November day near Thionville, France, when Pfc. Foster J. Sayers and his company were ordered to assault a hill bristling with German defenses. Enemy machine guns swept the open slopes with murderous fire, pinning down the American advance.
Sayers didn’t hesitate. Grabbing his machine gun, he charged up the steep hill alone, determined to draw the enemy’s attention so his company could maneuver. Through a hail of bullets and shrapnel, he ran to within twenty yards of the German trenches and opened fire point-blank, killing a dozen enemy soldiers in seconds.
When the Germans began to regroup, Sayers shifted position, diving behind a log and continuing to fire from the flank. His relentless assault kept the enemy’s focus locked on him—buying the time his comrades needed to sweep the crest of the hill and overrun the defenders.
Moments later, a burst of enemy fire struck him down. But because of his fearless charge, his company captured the hill with minimal losses, killing or capturing every German soldier atop it.
Private First Class Foster J. Sayers gave his life in one of the purest acts of battlefield sacrifice—a one-man attack that turned the tide of battle and saved countless others. He was 20 years old.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Near Thionville, France, 12 November 1944.
Entered service at: Howard, Pa.
Birth: Marsh Creek, Pa.
G.O. No.: 89, 19 October 1945.
Citation:
He displayed conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in combat on 12 November 1944, near Thionville, France. During an attack on strong hostile forces entrenched on a hill he fearlessly ran up the steep approach toward his objective and set up his machinegun 20 yards from the enemy. Realizing it would be necessary to attract full attention of the dug-in Germans while his company crossed an open area and flanked the enemy, he picked up his gun, charged through withering machinegun and rifle fire to the very edge of the emplacement, and there killed 12 German soldiers with devastating close-range fire. He took up a position behind a log and engaged the hostile infantry from the flank in an heroic attempt to distract their attention while his comrades attained their objective at the crest of the hill. He was killed by the very heavy concentration of return fire; but his fearless assault enabled his company to sweep the hill with minimum of casualties, killing or capturing every enemy soldier on it. Pfc. Sayers’ indomitable fighting spirit, aggressiveness, and supreme devotion to duty live on as an example of the highest traditions of the military service.
