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Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K 116th
Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. Place and date: Grandcampe France, 8
June 1944. Entered service at: Charlottesville, Va.
Birth:
10 April 1915,
Esmont, Va. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1945. Citation: On 8 June 1944, the 3d
Battalion of the 116th Infantry was advancing on the strongly held German
defenses at Grandcampe, France, when the leading elements were suddenly
halted by decimating machinegun fire from a firmly entrenched enemy force
on the high ground overlooking the town. After numerous attempts to neutralize
the enemy position by supporting artillery and tank fire had proved ineffective,
T/Sgt. Peregory, on his own initiative, advanced up the hill under withering
fire, and worked his way to the crest where he discovered an entrenchment
leading to the main enemy fortifications 200 yards away. Without hesitating,
he leaped into the trench and moved toward the emplacement. Encountering
a squad of enemy riflemen, he fearlessly attacked them with handgrenades
and bayonet, killed 8 and forced 3 to surrender. Continuing along the trench,
he single-handedly forced the surrender of 32 more riflemen, captured the
machine gunners, and opened the way for the leading elements of the battalion
to advance and secure its objective. The extraordinary gallantry and aggressiveness
displayed by T/Sgt. Peregory are exemplary of the highest tradition of
the armed forces.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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