Medal of Honor: Francis X. McGraw – World War II – November 19, 1944

Name: Francis Xavier McGraw
Rank: Private First Class
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company H, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”)
Place and Date: Near Schevenhütte, Germany – 19 November 1944
Entered Service At: Camden, New Jersey
Born: June 29, 1918 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Departed: Killed in Action, November 19, 1944
Accredited to: New Jersey

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Summary of Action

In the cold, rain-soaked forests near Schevenhütte, Germany, PFC Francis X. McGraw manned a heavy machine gun as German forces launched a fierce counterattack. For an hour he endured a brutal artillery barrage, refusing to abandon his post. As enemy infantry surged toward the American line, McGraw opened fire with devastating accuracy, halting the assault in its tracks.

When a German machine gun attempted to flank his position, McGraw lifted his own weapon onto a log, fully exposing himself above the rim of the foxhole. Standing tall under fire, he destroyed the enemy gun. A rocket blast tore his weapon from position — he simply retrieved it and fought on.

He knocked out a second German machine gun, then sprinted again and again across open ground swept by rifle and mortar fire to gather ammunition. Wounded while resupplying, he dragged himself back to his gun. Mud and debris choked the mechanism after another near-miss rocket strike, but McGraw calmly cleared the weapon and resumed firing as German troops pressed toward him.

Only when his ammunition was finally gone did he leave the machine gun. Grabbing a carbine, he charged forward — killing one German soldier, wounding another, and engaging a third in a close-quarters firefight before he was fatally struck by an enemy burst.

PFC McGraw’s stand broke the momentum of the German attack and inspired every man around him. His refusal to yield, even when isolated, wounded, and out of ammunition, helped save his company from being overrun.

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Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.

Entered service at: Camden, N.J.

G.O. No.: 92, 25 October 1945.

He manned a heavy machinegun emplaced in a foxhole near Schevenhutte, Germany, on 19 November 1944, when the enemy launched a fierce counterattack. Braving an intense hour-long preparatory barrage, he maintained his stand and poured deadly accurate fire into the advancing foot troops until they faltered and came to a halt. The hostile forces brought up a machinegun in an effort to dislodge him but were frustrated when he lifted his gun to an exposed but advantageous position atop a log, courageously stood up in his foxhole and knocked out the enemy weapon. A rocket blasted his gun from position, but he retrieved it and continued firing. He silenced a second machinegun and then made repeated trips over fire-swept terrain to replenish his ammunition supply. Wounded painfully in this dangerous task, he disregarded his injury and hurried back to his post, where his weapon was showered with mud when another rocket barely missed him. In the midst of the battle, with enemy troops taking advantage of his predicament to press forward, he calmly cleaned his gun, put it back into action and drove off the attackers. He continued to fire until his ammunition was expended, when, with a fierce desire to close with the enemy, he picked up a carbine, killed 1 enemy soldier, wounded another and engaged in a desperate firefight with a third until he was mortally wounded by a burst from a machine pistol. The extraordinary heroism and intrepidity displayed by Pvt. McGraw inspired his comrades to great efforts and was a major factor in repulsing the enemy attack.