HALLMAN, SHERWOOD H. - Medal of Honor Recipient
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 175th Infantry, 29th
Infantry Division. Place and date: Brest, Brittany, France, 13 September
1944. Entered service at: Spring City, Pa. Birth: Spring City, Pa. G.O.
No.: 31, 17 April 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 13 September
1944, in Brittany, France, the 2d Battalion in its attack on the fortified
city of Brest was held up by a strongly defended enemy position which had
prevented its advance despite repeated attacks extending over a 3-day period.
Finally, Company F advanced to within several hundred yards of the enemy
position but was again halted by intense fire. Realizing that the position
must be neutralized without delay, S/Sgt. Hallman ordered his squad to
cover his movements with fire while he advanced alone to a point from which
he could make the assault. Without hesitating, S/Sgt. Hallman leaped over
a hedgerow into a sunken road, the central point of the German defenses
which was known to contain an enemy machinegun position and at least 30
enemy riflemen. Firing his carbine and hurling grenades, S/Sgt. Hallman,
unassisted, killed or wounded 4 of the enemy, then ordered the remainder
to surrender. Immediately, 12 of the enemy surrendered and the position
was shortly secured by the remainder of his company. Seeing the surrender
of this position, about 75 of the enemy in the vicinity surrendered, yielding
a defensive organization which the battalion with heavy supporting fires
had been unable to take. This single heroic act on the part of S/Sgt. Hallman
resulted in the immediate advance of the entire battalion for a distance
of 2,000 yards to a position from which Fort Keranroux was captured later
the same day. S/Sgt. Hallman's fighting determination and intrepidity in
battle exemplify the highest tradition of the U.S. Armed Forces.
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