Medal of Honor: Vernon McGarity – World War II – December 16, 1944

Name: Vernon McGarity
Rank: Technical Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company L, 393d Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division 
Place and Date: Near Krinkelt, Belgium – 16 December 1944
Entered Service At: Model, Tennessee
Born: December 1, 1921 – Right, Tennessee
Departed: Survived
Accredited To: Tennessee

Summary of Action

On the morning of December 16, 1944, near the village of Krinkelt, Belgium, Technical Sergeant Vernon McGarity was painfully wounded during a massive German artillery barrage that signaled the opening of the Ardennes counteroffensive. After reaching an aid station and receiving treatment, he refused evacuation and returned to his unit, which had been ordered to hold its position at all costs.

Throughout the day and night, McGarity led his small force under relentless enemy pressure. Communications failed, enemy fire intensified, and German troops attempted repeated infiltrations. Despite his wounds, McGarity moved among his men, encouraging them and personally rescuing a wounded comrade from a forward position under heavy fire.

At dawn, the enemy attacked with tanks and infantry. McGarity ran through intense fire to an exposed position and disabled the lead tank with a rocket launcher. His squad’s fire drove back the accompanying infantry and forced the remaining tanks to withdraw. Again risking his life, he rescued another wounded American and directed fire that destroyed a light enemy cannon brought forward to break the defense.

As ammunition dwindled, McGarity remembered an old ammunition cache roughly 100 yards away—toward the enemy. He crossed open ground under concentrated fire and returned with desperately needed supplies. When German forces maneuvered a machine gun to the rear and flank of the position, cutting off all escape, McGarity took it upon himself to eliminate the threat. Advancing alone under steady fire, he killed or wounded the entire enemy gun crew and prevented all attempts to reman the weapon.

Only after the squad’s final round had been fired were McGarity and his men finally overrun and captured. His extraordinary bravery and unwavering devotion to duty enabled a critical delaying action that bought precious time for U.S. forces to organize reserves and halt the German offensive.

Medal of Honor Citation

Citation:

He was painfully wounded in an artillery barrage that preceded the powerful counteroffensive launched by the Germans near Krinkelt, Belgium, on the morning of 16 December 1944. He made his way to an aid station, received treatment, and then refused to be evacuated, choosing to return to his hard-pressed men, instead. The fury of the enemy's great Western Front offensive swirled about the position held by T/Sgt. McGarity's small force, but so tenaciously did these men fight on orders to stand firm at all costs that they could not be dislodged despite murderous enemy fire and the breakdown of their communications. During the day, the heroic squad leader rescued one of his friends, who had been wounded in a forward position, and throughout the night, he exhorted his comrades to repulse the enemy's attempts at infiltration. When morning came and the Germans attacked with tanks and infantry, he braved heavy fire to run to an advantageous position where he immobilized the enemy's lead tank with a round from a rocket launcher. Fire from his squad drove the attacking infantrymen back, and three supporting tanks withdrew. He rescued, under heavy fire, another wounded American, and then directed devastating fire on a light cannon, which had been brought up by the hostile troops to clear resistance from the area. When ammunition began to run low, T/Sgt. McGarity, remembering an old ammunition hole about 100 yards distant in the general direction of the enemy, braved a concentration of hostile fire to replenish his unit's supply. By a circuitous route, the enemy managed to emplace a machinegun to the rear and flank of the squad's position, cutting off the only escape route. Unhesitatingly, the gallant soldier took it upon himself to destroy this menace single-handedly. He left cover, and while under steady fire from the enemy, killed or wounded all the hostile gunners with deadly accurate rifle fire and prevented all attempts to reman the gun. Only when the squad's last round had been fired was the enemy able to advance and capture the intrepid leader and his men. The extraordinary bravery and extreme devotion to duty of T/Sgt. McGarity supported a remarkable delaying action which provided the time necessary for assembling reserves and forming a line against which the German striking power was shattered.