Medal of Honor: James Montross Burt, World War II, October 13–21, 1944

Name: James Montross Burt
Rank: Captain
War: World War II
Date of Action: October 13–21, 1944
Unit: Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (“Hell on Wheels”)
Entered Service At: Lee, Massachusetts
Born: Hinsdale, Massachusetts

Summary of Action
In the bitter October rains of 1944, as the U.S. 2nd Armored Division pressed toward Aachen, Captain James Burt commanded Company B of the 66th Armored Regiment during a joint tank-infantry assault near Wurselen. The goal: close the Aachen gap and cut off thousands of German defenders. When his infantry was pinned down by devastating crossfire, Burt dismounted from his tank, walked through a storm of bullets, and—standing upright under enemy fire—waved his Shermans into firing position.
A shell fragment tore into his face and neck, but he refused evacuation. From the open deck of his tank, Burt directed the attack until the enemy guns were silenced. When German counterattacks came, he again exposed himself, rallying troops, carrying the wounded—including a battalion commander—and refusing to yield an inch.
For eight grueling days, Captain Burt coordinated infantry, armor, and artillery under withering fire and ceaseless shelling. His tanks were knocked out twice, yet he climbed aboard new ones each time, pressing the fight deeper into enemy lines. His presence—bloodied but steadfast—became the rallying point of the entire sector. The men called him “The Man on the Tank.” His leadership broke the German line, sealed the fate of Aachen, and inspired all who followed him through that miserable, thunderous battle.

Medal of Honor Citation
BURT, JAMES M.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2d Armored Division. Place and date: Near Wurselen, Germany, 13 October 1944. Entered service at: Lee, Mass. Birth: Hinsdale, Mass. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: Capt. James M. Burt was in command of Company B, 66th Armored Regiment on the western outskirts of Wurselen, Germany, on 13 October 1944, when his organization participated in a coordinated infantry-tank attack destined to isolate the large German garrison which was tenaciously defending the city of Aachen. In the first day’s action, when infantrymen ran into murderous small-arms and mortar fire, Capt. Burt dismounted from his tank about 200 yards to the rear and moved forward on foot beyond the infantry positions, where, as the enemy concentrated a tremendous volume of fire upon him, he calmly motioned his tanks into good firing positions. As our attack gained momentum, he climbed aboard his tank and directed the action from the rear deck, exposed to hostile volleys which finally wounded him painfully in the face and neck. He maintained his dangerous post despite pointblank self-propelled gunfire until friendly artillery knocked out these enemy weapons, and then proceeded to the advanced infantry scouts’ positions to deploy his tanks for the defense of the gains which had been made. The next day, when the enemy counterattacked, he left cover and went 75 yards through heavy fire to assist the infantry battalion commander who was seriously wounded. For the next 8 days, through rainy, miserable weather and under constant, heavy shelling, Capt. Burt held the combined forces together, dominating and controlling the critical situation through the sheer force of his heroic example. To direct artillery fire, on 15 October, he took his tank 300 yards into the enemy lines, where he dismounted and remained for 1 hour giving accurate data to friendly gunners. Twice more that day he went into enemy territory under deadly fire on reconnaissance. In succeeding days he never faltered in his determination to defeat the strong German forces opposing him. Twice the tank in which he was riding was knocked out by enemy action, and each time he climbed aboard another vehicle and continued the fight. He took great risks to rescue wounded comrades and inflicted prodigious destruction on enemy personnel and materiel even though suffering from the wounds he received in the battle’s opening phase. Capt. Burt’s intrepidity and disregard of personal safety were so complete that his own men and the infantry who attached themselves to him were inspired to overcome the wretched and extremely hazardous conditions which accompanied one of the most bitter local actions of the war. The victory achieved closed the Aachen gap.