Medal of Honor: George L. Mabry Jr. – World War II – November 20, 1944

Name: George L. Mabry Jr.
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Hürtgen Forest near Schevenhütte, Germany – 20 November 1944
Entered Service At: Sumter, South Carolina
Born: September 14, 1917 – Stateburg, South Carolina
Departed: July 13, 1990
Accredited To: South Carolina

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Summary of Action

The Hürtgen Forest was one of the most brutal battlegrounds of World War II — a maze of mines, wire, booby traps, and fortified German positions. On November 20, 1944, Lieutenant Colonel George L. Mabry Jr., commanding the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, led a major assault through this deadly terrain.

When the lead elements of his battalion were stopped cold by a minefield under punishing enemy fire, Mabry moved forward alone, entering the mined area to locate and mark a safe route. He then advanced ahead of the scouts until he reached a double-apron concertina barrier rigged with explosives. Crawling forward with the scouts, he personally neutralized the charges and cut a passage through the wire.

As he pushed through the opening, Mabry confronted three German soldiers in foxholes and captured all of them at bayonet point.

Pressing on, he drove the attack toward three log bunkers supporting each other with automatic weapons. Mabry raced up a slope to the first bunker, finding it abandoned, then charged the second — where nine enemy soldiers rushed him. He struck one with the butt of his rifle, bayoneted another, and with the help of his scouts, defeated the rest in hand-to-hand combat.

Finally, under point-blank fire, he led his men in an assault on the last bunker, stormed inside, and forced six additional Germans to surrender at bayonet point.

Not stopping there, Mabry reorganized his battalion and led them across 300 yards of open ground swept by heavy fire to seize a crucial ridge. This new position threatened the enemy from both flanks and secured a foothold vital to the American push toward the Cologne Plain.

Lieutenant Colonel Mabry’s courage, initiative, and refusal to lead from anywhere but the front turned a stalled assault into a breakthrough — a defining moment of the Hürtgen campaign.

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Medal of Honor Citation

He was commanding the 2d Battalion, 8th Infantry, in an attack through the Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany, on 20 November 1944. During the early phases of the assault, the leading elements of his battalion were halted by a minefield and immobilized by heavy hostile fire. Advancing alone into the mined area, Col. Mabry established a safe route of passage. He then moved ahead of the foremost scouts, personally leading the attack, until confronted by a boobytrapped double concertina obstacle. With the assistance of the scouts, he disconnected the explosives and cut a path through the wire. Upon moving through the opening, he observed 3 enemy in foxholes whom he captured at bayonet point. Driving steadily forward he paced the assault against 3 log bunkers which housed mutually supported automatic weapons. Racing up a slope ahead of his men, he found the initial bunker deserted, then pushed on to the second where he was suddenly confronted by 9 onrushing enemy. Using the butt of his rifle, he felled 1 adversary and bayoneted a second, before his scouts came to his aid and assisted him in overcoming the others in hand-to-hand combat. Accompanied by the riflemen, he charged the third bunker under pointblank small arms fire and led the way into the fortification from which he prodded 6 enemy at bayonet point. Following the consolidation of this area, he led his battalion across 300 yards of fire-swept terrain to seize elevated ground upon which he established a defensive position which menaced the enemy on both flanks, and provided his regiment a firm foothold on the approach to the Cologne Plain. Col. Mabry’s superlative courage, daring, and leadership in an operation of major importance exemplify the finest characteristics of the military service.