Medal of Honor: Freeman V. Horner – World War II – November 16, 1944

Name: Freeman Victor Horner
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company K, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Würselen, Germany – 16 November 1944
Entered Service At: Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Born: June 7, 1922 – Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania
G.O. No.: 95 (30 October 1945)

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Summary of Action

In the bitter fighting along Germany’s Siegfried Line, Company K found itself pinned down in flat, exposed ground outside Würselen. German machine guns hammered their position while artillery observers called down deadly fire. The company could not advance — and could not survive where they lay.

S/Sgt. Freeman V. Horner made the decision that changed everything. Carrying his submachine gun, grenades, and extra ammunition, he stood up in full view of multiple enemy guns and charged headlong across open terrain. Bullets snapped around him as he closed the distance.

Just as he reached a semblance of cover, a previously silent machine gun erupted directly in front of him. Horner spun, fully exposed, and cut down both gunners with a single burst. Then, without hesitating, he pivoted toward the remaining two machine-gun positions and charged them from fifty yards away. The Germans, stunned that they could not stop him, abandoned their guns and fled into a cellar.

Horner kicked in the door, hurled grenades down the stairs, and demanded their surrender — four enemy soldiers complied on the spot. His one-man assault destroyed three machine-gun nests, killed or captured seven enemy troops, and opened the path for the company’s attack.

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Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 119th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.

Entered service at: Shamokin, Pa.

G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945.

S/Sgt. Horner and other members of his company were attacking Wurselen, Germany, against stubborn resistance on 16 November 1944, when machinegun fire from houses on the edge of the town pinned the attackers in flat, open terrain 100 yards from their objective. As they lay in the field, enemy artillery observers directed fire upon them, causing serious casualties. Realizing that the machineguns must be eliminated in order to permit the company to advance from its precarious position, S/Sgt. Horner voluntarily stood up with his submachine gun and rushed into the teeth of concentrated fire, burdened by a heavy load of ammunition and hand grenades. Just as he reached a position of seeming safety, he was fired on by a machinegun which had remained silent up until that time. He coolly wheeled in his fully exposed position while bullets barely missed him and killed 2 hostile gunners with a single, devastating burst. He turned to face the fire of the other 2 machineguns, and dodging fire as he ran, charged the 2 positions 50 yards away. Demoralized by their inability to hit the intrepid infantryman, the enemy abandoned their guns and took cover in the cellar of the house they occupied. S/Sgt. Horner burst into the building, hurled 2 grenades down the cellar stairs, and called for the Germans to surrender. Four men gave up to him. By his extraordinary courage, S/Sgt. Horner destroyed 3 enemy machinegun positions, killed or captured 7 enemy, and cleared the path for his company’s successful assault on Wurselen.