James W. Reese

James William Reese (born April 16, 1920 in Chester, Pennsylvania ; August 5, 1943 in Troina , Italy ) was a soldier in the United States Army , who was awarded the Medal of Honor , the highest military honor , for his brave and exemplary behavior in World War II Order of the United States .

Life

Reese was born on April 16, 1920 in the small town of Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. His parents were Howard Marion Reese (1888-1956) and his wife Helen Kathryn, née Hanley (1894-1967). He grew up with his three years older brother Howard M. (1917-1984) and younger sister Marjorie (1921-1989) on West 8th Street in Chester.

Troina in August 1943

The Medal of Honor for members of the US Army

On November 19, 1941, Reese joined the US Army at Camp Lee, Virginia, at the age of 21 . In the convocation register, his civilian occupation is indicated as shipping and receiving clerk (German: employee in goods receipt and dispatch). He served with the rank of private in the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division .

On August 5, 1943, his regiment was involved in the battle of Troina in Sicily during the conquest of Sicily by the Allies . Reese headed that day a mortar - party and led it in a position that could be inflicted by the greater of the advancing German infantry losses. When the enemy fire grew stronger and there was only ammunition left for three rounds of the mortar, Reese ordered his comrades to retreat and was left alone to operate the weapon. He moved into another position and switched off a German machine gun nest with the last of the ammunition . Then he left the mortar behind and rushed towards the enemy alone with his rifle until he was killed in the hail of bullets.

James W. Reese, who was 23 years old at the time of his death, was transferred to his hometown in Pennsylvania three years later and found his final resting place there on August 6, 1948 in the Chester Rural Cemetery .

Posthumous honors

Four months after his death, James W. Reese was named under General Order No. 85 honored posthumously with the Medal of Honor on December 17, 1943 . It was presented to his mother by Maj. Gen. Lunsford E. Oliver at a formal ceremony at Fort DuPont, Delaware City . Since the US entered World War II, only 55 members of all branches of the US Army had been awarded the medal. A United States Army Reserve Center in Upland, Pennsylvania was named after him. On December 14, 1968, the Delaware County Daily Times published a review of the article on Reese's honor that had been published 25 years earlier.

On the occasion of the General Order of 20 June 1949, a complex of three former German barracks in Augsburg , which was used by the stationed there US troops in his honor in Reese Barracks ( English Reese Barracks renamed). After the withdrawal of the American troops from Augsburg in 1994 and the demolition of the barracks, a new residential area with an extensive green belt has been built on this site since the 2010s, which is now called Reese-Park . Reese-Allee runs through the middle of the residential area as the main access road .

Original text of the Medal of Honor justification

The official justification for the award of the order read ( English ):

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict with the enemy. When the enemy launched a counterattack which threatened the position of his company, Pvt. Reese, as the acting squad leader of a 60-mm. mortar squad, displaying superior leadership on his own initiative, maneuvered his squad forward to a favorable position, from which, by skillfully directing the fire of his weapon, he caused many casualties in the enemy ranks, and aided materially in repulsing the counterattack. When the enemy fire became so severe as to make his position down, he ordered the other members of his squad to withdraw to a safer position, but declined to seek safety for himself. So as to bring more effective fire upon the enemy, Pvt. Reese, without assistance, moved his mortar to a new position and attacked an enemy machinegun nest. He had only 3 rounds of ammunition but secured a direct hit with his last round, completely destroying the nest and killing the occupants. Ammunition being exhausted, he abandoned the mortar, seized a rifle and continued to advance, moving into an exposed position overlooking the enemy. Despite a heavy concentration of machinegun, mortar, and artillery fire, the heaviest experienced by his unit throughout the entire Sicilian campaign, he remained at this position and continued to inflict casualties upon the enemy until he was killed. His bravery, coupled with his gallant and unswerving determination to close with the enemy, regardless of consequences and obstacles which he faced, are a priceless inspiration to our armed forces. "

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Scans of the original documents viewed on ancestry.com on September 1, 2019.
2. ^ WWII Army Enlistment Records
3. ↑ James William Reese: World War II Casualty from Pennsylvania. www.honorstates.org, accessed September 1, 2019 . 
4. ^ Delaware County Daily Times, Aug. 6, 1948, p. 1.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Do You Remember When? US Medal of Honor to Go To Family of Pvt . Reese . In: Delaware County Daily Times . December 14, 1968 (English).
6. ^ Philip Martin McCaulay: World War. Medal of Honor Recipients . Ed .: Lulu.com. Raleigh, North Carolina 2010, ISBN 978-0-557-34417-8 , pp. 553 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search - with photo).
7. ^ Medal of Honor recipients - World War II (MS). In: Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History, June 8, 2009, accessed September 1, 2019 .