FOURNIER, WILLIAM G. - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company M, 35th Infantry,
25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Mount Austen, Guadalcanal, Solomon
Islands, 10 January 1943. Entered service at: Winterport, Maine. Birth:
Norwich, Conn. G.O. No.: 28, 5 June 1943. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity
above and beyond the call of duty. As leader of a machinegun section charged
with the protection of other battalion units, his group was attacked by
a superior number of Japanese, his gunner killed, his assistant gunner
wounded, and an adjoining guncrew put out of action. Ordered to withdraw
from this hazardous position, Sgt. Fournier refused to retire but rushed
forward to the idle gun and, with the aid of another soldier who joined
him, held up the machinegun by the tripod to increase its field action.
They opened fire and inflicted heavy casualties upon the enemy. While so
engaged both these gallant soldiers were killed, but their sturdy defensive
was a decisive factor in the following success of the attacking battalion.
Browse Records by Era / War / Subject |
