Medal of Honor: Rudolph B. Davila - World War II - May 28, 1944

Name: Rudolph B. Davila
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Branch: U.S. Army
War: World War II
Unit: 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division
Date of Action: May 28, 1944
Location: Near Artena, Italy

Summary of Action

On 28 May 1944, Staff Sergeant Rudolph B. Davila displayed extraordinary heroism during combat operations near Artena, Italy, during the Allied offensive that shattered the German defenses surrounding the Anzio beachhead.

American forces advancing through the rugged terrain suddenly came under devastating grazing fire from well-entrenched German machine-gun positions.

Pinned to an exposed hillside, Davila’s machine-gun crews hesitated to expose themselves to the deadly fire sweeping the battlefield.

Recognizing that the rifle company desperately needed supporting fire to survive and continue the attack, Davila acted immediately.

Ignoring the bullets tearing across the hillside, he crawled fifty yards through open terrain to the nearest machine gun.

Completely alone, he set up the weapon and began firing directly at the enemy positions.

To better observe the effect of his fire, Davila deliberately fired from a kneeling position despite enemy rounds striking the machine-gun tripod and passing between his legs.

After silencing the enemy guns, he ordered another soldier to take over the weapon while he crawled farther forward to direct the firefight using hand and arm signals.

With the German positions temporarily suppressed, Davila brought his remaining machine guns into action and forced the enemy to withdraw to reserve positions farther back.

During the battle, he suffered a painful wound to the leg.

Ignoring the injury, Davila dashed to the wreck of a burned-out tank and climbed into the turret to continue firing on a second enemy force despite bullets hammering the steel hull around him.

Still refusing to stop, he dismounted and advanced another one hundred thirty yards in short rushes toward an enemy-held house.

After crawling the final twenty yards under fire, Davila charged the building and killed the five German defenders with a grenade and rifle fire.

He then climbed into the attic of the crumbling structure and opened fire through a shell hole in the wall.

Even as enemy fire shattered the building around him, Davila continued firing until he had destroyed two more German machine-gun positions.

His fearless assault provided the critical heavy-weapons support needed to save the beleaguered rifle company and forced the Germans to abandon their prepared defenses.

Medal of Honor Citation

DAVILA, RUDOLPH B.

Staff Sergeant Rudolph B. Davila distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action, on 28 May 1944, near Artena, Italy. During the offensive which broke through the German mountain strongholds surrounding the Anzio beachhead, Staff Sergeant Davila risked death to provide heavy weapons support for a beleaguered rifle company. Caught on an exposed hillside by heavy, grazing fire from a well-entrenched German force, his machine gunners were reluctant to risk putting their guns into action. Crawling fifty yards to the nearest machine gun, Staff Sergeant Davila set it up alone and opened fire on the enemy. In order to observe the effect of his fire, Sergeant Davila fired from the kneeling position, ignoring the enemy fire that struck the tripod and passed between his legs. Ordering a gunner to take over, he crawled forward to a vantage point and directed the firefight with hand and arm signals until both hostile machine guns were silenced. Bringing his three remaining machine guns into action, he drove the enemy to a reserve position two hundred yards to the rear. When he received a painful wound in the leg, he dashed to a burned tank and, despite the crash of bullets on the hull, engaged a second enemy force from the tank’s turret. Dismounting, he advanced 130 yards in short rushes, crawled 20 yards and charged into an enemy-held house to eliminate the defending force of five with a hand grenade and rifle fire. Climbing to the attic, he straddled a large shell hole in the wall and opened fire on the enemy. Although the walls of the house were crumbling, he continued to fire until he had destroyed two more machine guns. His intrepid actions brought desperately needed heavy weapons support to a hard-pressed rifle company and silenced four machine gunners, which forced the enemy to abandon their prepared positions. Staff Sergeant Davila’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.