MOH

Medal of Honor: Truman O. Olson – World War II – Italy – January 1944

For more than ninety minutes, alone and mortally wounded, he held the line. His machine gun was the last barrier between his company and annihilation.

February 3, 2026

Name: Truman O. Olson
Rank: Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division
Place: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy
Entered Service At: Cambridge, Wisconsin
Born: Christiana, Wisconsin

Summary of Action

After sixteen hours of relentless combat against deeply entrenched German positions near Cisterna di Littoria, Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, had suffered catastrophic losses. More than one-third of the unit had become casualties. Exhausted survivors dug in behind a horseshoe-shaped rise to prepare for the inevitable counterattack.

Sergeant Truman O. Olson, a light machine gunner, was positioned forward of the company lines with the unit’s only remaining machine gun. Fully aware that his position was dangerously exposed, Sgt. Olson accepted the role of shielding the company from the full force of the coming assault.

Throughout the night of 30 January 1944, German fire swept his position. One by one, members of his gun crew were killed. Despite being awake and fighting for more than twenty-four hours without relief, and despite suffering a wound to his arm, Sgt. Olson remained at his post, manning the weapon alone.

At dawn on 31 January, approximately 200 German soldiers attacked in an all-out assault supported by mortars and machine guns. Sgt. Olson bore the brunt of the attack. For thirty minutes he fought continuously until he was mortally wounded. Even then, fully aware that his gun was the last defense protecting his company, he refused evacuation.

For an additional ninety minutes—while dying—Sgt. Olson continued firing his machine gun. His sustained, devastating fire killed at least twenty enemy soldiers, wounded many others, and ultimately forced the German assault to break and withdraw. His sacrifice saved Company B from destruction.

Medal of Honor Citation

OLSON, TRUMAN O.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division.

Place and date: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 30–31 January 1944.

Entered service at: Cambridge, Wis.

Birth: Christiana, Wis.

G.O. No.: 6, 24 January 1945.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Olson, a light machine gunner, elected to sacrifice his life to save his company from annihilation. On the night of 30 January 1944, after a 16-hour assault on entrenched enemy positions in the course of which over one-third of Company B became casualties, the survivors dug in behind a horseshoe elevation, placing Sgt. Olson and his crew, with the 1 available machinegun, forward of their lines and in an exposed position to bear the brunt of the expected German counterattack.

Although he had been fighting without respite, Sgt. Olson stuck grimly to his post all night while his guncrew was cut down, one by one, by accurate and overwhelming enemy fire. Weary from over 24 hours of continuous battle and suffering from an arm wound received during the night engagement, Sgt. Olson manned his gun alone, meeting the full force of an all-out enemy assault by approximately 200 men supported by mortar and machinegun fire which the Germans launched at daybreak on the morning of 31 January.

After 30 minutes of fighting, Sgt. Olson was mortally wounded, yet, knowing that only his weapon stood between his company and complete destruction, he refused evacuation. For an hour and a half after receiving his second and fatal wound he continued to fire his machinegun, killing at least 20 of the enemy, wounding many more, and forcing the assaulting German elements to withdraw.