Medal of Honor: Lieutenant Daniel W. Lee, World War II, September 2, 1944

Lieutenant Daniel W. Lee

World War II – September 2, 1944 – Montreval, France

Hook

Amid the chaos of battle in France, one young lieutenant chose pain over retreat, dragging his shattered body forward into the teeth of the enemy. What he accomplished from the edge of death turned the tide of the fight and left a legacy of courage carved into history.

Summary of Action

On September 2, 1944, the town of Montreval, France, became the center of a desperate struggle. Outnumbered, outgunned, and under relentless shelling, the reconnaissance troops of Troop A, 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron faced annihilation as German mortars and armored vehicles poured destruction into their thin lines.

Amid this storm stood First Lieutenant Daniel W. Lee. At only 25 years old, he was already battle-hardened, but the odds before him were crushing. With German mortars tearing into his men and casualties mounting, Lee refused to accept paralysis. He organized a small patrol, determined to silence the enemy’s guns.

Crawling forward through deadly fire, he reached a vantage point that revealed seven enemy soldiers manning two mortars near an armored half-track. Armed only with his rifle and grenades, Lee ordered his men to hold while he pushed on alone. Enemy fire tore through him—machine pistol rounds shattered his right thigh. The pain was indescribable. But instead of falling back, Lee dragged himself forward on his elbows, inch by bloody inch, until he was within striking range.

Bleeding and wracked with pain, Lee steadied his rifle, killed five of the mortar crew, and drove the others into retreat. Then, from behind the captured German half-track, he spotted an even greater danger: an armored car sweeping the hillside with machine-gun fire. Lee found a discarded Panzerfaust, a German rocket launcher, and crawled through withering fire to bring it into range. Despite his grievous wound, he fired a perfect shot, crippling the armored vehicle and forcing its withdrawal.

Only then, his mission complete, did he drag himself back to his patrol before collapsing from blood loss and agony. His gallantry had shattered the German assault on that flank and bought precious time for his outnumbered force to hold Montreval.

Medal of Honor Citation

Citation:
1st Lt. (then 2d Lt.) Daniel W. Lee was leader of Headquarters Platoon, Troop A, 117th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized, at Montreval, France, on 2 September 1944, when the Germans mounted a strong counterattack, isolating the town and engaging its outnumbered defenders in a pitched battle. After the fight had raged for hours and our forces had withstood heavy shelling and armor-supported infantry attacks, 2d Lt. Lee organized a patrol to knock out mortars which were inflicting heavy casualties on the beleaguered reconnaissance troops. He led the small group to the edge of the town, sweeping enemy riflemen out of position on a ridge from which he observed 7 Germans manning 2 large mortars near an armored half-track about 100 yards down the reverse slope. Armed with a rifle and grenades, he left his men on the high ground and crawled to within 30 yards of the mortars, where the enemy discovered him and unleashed machine-pistol fire which shattered his right thigh. Scorning retreat, bleeding and suffering intense pain, he dragged himself relentlessly forward. He killed 5 of the enemy with rifle fire and the others fled before he reached their position. Fired on by an armored car, he took cover behind the German half-track and there found a panzerfaust with which to neutralize this threat. Despite his wounds, he inched his way toward the car through withering machinegun fire, maneuvering into range, and blasted the vehicle with a round from the rocket launcher, forcing it to withdraw. Having cleared the slope of hostile troops, he struggled back to his men, where he collapsed from pain and loss of blood. 2d Lt. Lee’s outstanding gallantry, willing risk of life, and extreme tenacity of purpose in coming to grips with the enemy, although suffering from grievous wounds, set an example of bravery and devotion to duty in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.