Medal of Honor: Ralph G. Neppel – World War II – December 14, 1944
With his leg severed by a tank shell, one machine-gun squad leader dragged himself back through fire, remounted his weapon, and destroyed the infantry assault—forcing an enemy tank to withdraw.
December 16, 2025
Name: Ralph G. Neppel
Rank: Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company M, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division
Place and Date: Birgel, Germany – 14 December 1944
Entered Service At: Glidden, Iowa
Born: Willey, Iowa
Departed: Survived
Accredited To: Iowa
Summary of Action
On December 14, 1944, Sergeant Ralph G. Neppel was leading a machine-gun squad defending a vital approach to the village of Birgel, Germany, when German forces launched a determined counterattack. An enemy tank, supported by approximately twenty infantrymen, advanced directly toward the American position.
Holding his fire until the enemy closed to within 100 yards, Neppel suddenly opened up with devastating effect, raking the advancing infantry alongside the tank and killing several of them. Undeterred, the enemy armor continued forward. At point-blank range—only 30 yards away—the tank fired a high-velocity shell directly into the machine-gun emplacement.
The blast wounded every member of the squad. Neppel was hurled ten yards from his weapon. One of his legs was severed below the knee, and he suffered multiple additional wounds.
Despite catastrophic injuries and the continued threat of the advancing tank and infantry, Neppel refused to yield his position. Dragging himself back on his elbows, he reached the machine gun, remounted it, and resumed firing. With grim determination, he killed the remaining enemy riflemen escorting the tank.
Stripped of its infantry protection, the German tank was forced to withdraw.
Sergeant Neppel’s extraordinary courage and refusal to surrender under the most extreme conditions shattered the enemy assault and held the line at a critical moment in the battle.
Medal of Honor Citation
