Medal of Honor: William J. Crawford, World War II, September 13, 1943

William J. Crawford

War: World War II
Date of Action: September 13, 1943
Unit: 36th Infantry Division
Born: May 19, 1918 – Pueblo, Colorado

The rugged slopes of Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy, were alive with gunfire on the morning of September 13, 1943. As the 36th Infantry Division clawed its way upward, German machineguns dug into terraces spat out lethal fire, cutting down men and halting the advance. In the middle of the storm stood Private William J. Crawford, a quiet squad scout from Pueblo, Colorado, whose actions that day would etch his name forever into the history of valor.

Pinned to the ground by relentless fire, Crawford spotted one of the machineguns directly to his front. Without waiting for orders, he rose from cover and crawled across the bullet-swept slope. Through bursts of fire and flying stone, he closed to within yards of the enemy nest. With a steady hand, he lobbed a grenade into the emplacement, silencing the weapon and killing three of its crew. His platoon surged forward, freed from the deadly crossfire.

But the Germans were not finished. Again the platoon was halted—this time by two machineguns cleverly concealed in a ravine higher up the terrace. Where others saw a wall of fire, Crawford saw opportunity. Moving low and fast, he stalked the first nest and killed its crew with a grenade. Then, still under constant fire, he maneuvered to the second, firing his rifle and hurling another grenade. One gunner fell, the rest fled. Seizing the abandoned weapon, Crawford turned it on the retreating Germans, breaking their will to fight and clearing the way for Company I to continue its assault.

What Crawford accomplished that day was nothing short of extraordinary: a lone private, armed with grenades and grit, systematically dismantled enemy positions that had stalled his entire company. His initiative and courage transformed the battlefield, ensuring that the advance on Altavilla did not falter.

Medal of Honor Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943. When Company I attacked an enemy-held position on Hill 424, the 3d Platoon, in which Pvt. Crawford was a squad scout, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machinegun and small-arms fire. Locating 1 of these guns, which was dug in on a terrace on his immediate front, Pvt. Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and single-handedly destroyed the machinegun and killed 3 of the crew with a hand grenade, thus enabling his platoon to continue its advance. When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by enemy fire, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between 2 hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed 1 gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with 1 grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder to flee. Seizing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company’s advance.