Medal of Honor: Russell E. Dunham – World War II – France – January 1945
Clad in white against a frozen hillside, he charged uphill alone into converging machine-gun fire. Wounded, bleeding, and fully exposed, he shattered an enemy defense with sheer will and violence of action.
January 8, 2026
Name: Russell E. Dunham
Rank: Technical Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company I, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division
Place: Near Kayserberg, France (Hill 616)
Entered Service At: Brighton, Illinois
Born: East Carondelet, Illinois
Summary of Action
On the afternoon of 8 January 1945, during an attack on Hill 616 near Kayserberg, France, Technical Sergeant Russell E. Dunham undertook one of the most audacious solo assaults of the European campaign. As his platoon advanced up a snow-covered hillside under heavy fire from multiple enemy machineguns and supporting riflemen, Sergeant Dunham moved far ahead of his unit to break the defense alone.
Wearing a white improvised camouflage robe made from a mattress cover, carrying a carbine, twelve magazines, and a dozen grenades, he crawled forward under direct machinegun fire toward the first emplacement. Rising to charge at close range, he was struck by enemy fire, suffering a severe wound across his back that hurled him down the slope. He immediately regained his feet, kicked aside a grenade that landed beside him, and killed the machinegun crew at point-blank range.
Despite intense pain and blood soaking through his white clothing—making him starkly visible against the snow—Sergeant Dunham pressed on. He advanced through a storm of fire to destroy a second machinegun with grenades, then cleared supporting rifle positions with carbine fire. Without pause, he again surged forward against a third machinegun, crawling under fire before rising at close range to annihilate the crew with grenades.
In the course of his single-handed assault, Sergeant Dunham killed nine enemy soldiers, wounded seven, and captured two, firing approximately 175 rounds and expending eleven grenades. His fearless advance shattered the enemy’s defenses and enabled his platoon to continue the attack. Wounded but unyielding, he spearheaded a diversionary assault whose success rested entirely on his extraordinary courage and indomitable will.
Medal of Honor Citation
His platoon 35 yards behind him, T/Sgt. Dunham crawled 75 yards under heavy direct fire toward the timbered emplacement shielding the left machinegun. As he jumped to his feet 10 yards from the gun and charged forward, machinegun fire tore through his camouflage robe and a rifle bullet seared a 10-inch gash across his back sending him spinning 15 yards downhill into the snow. When the indomitable sergeant sprang to his feet to renew his one-man assault, a German egg grenade landed beside him. He kicked it aside, and as it exploded 5 yards away, shot and killed the German machinegunner and assistant gunner. His carbine empty, he jumped into the emplacement and hauled out the third member of the gun crew by the collar.
Although his back wound was causing him excruciating pain and blood was seeping through his white coat, T/Sgt. Dunham proceeded 50 yards through a storm of automatic and rifle fire to attack the second machinegun. Twenty-five yards from the emplacement he hurled 2 grenades, destroying the gun and its crew; then fired down into the supporting foxholes with his carbine, dispatching and dispersing the enemy riflemen.
Although his coat was so thoroughly blood-soaked that he was a conspicuous target against the white landscape, T/Sgt. Dunham again advanced ahead of his platoon in an assault on enemy positions farther up the hill. Coming under machinegun fire from 65 yards to his front, while rifle grenades exploded 10 yards from his position, he hit the ground and crawled forward. At 15 yards range, he jumped to his feet, staggered a few paces toward the timbered machinegun emplacement and killed the crew with hand grenades. An enemy rifleman fired at point-blank range, but missed him. After killing the rifleman, T/Sgt. Dunham drove others from their foxholes with grenades and carbine fire.
Killing 9 Germans, wounding 7 and capturing 2, firing about 175 rounds of carbine ammunition, and expending 11 grenades, T/Sgt. Dunham, despite a painful wound, spearheaded a spectacular and successful diversionary attack.
