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Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company F, 350th
Infantry. 88th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Mount Damiano, Italy,
12 May 1944. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: New York, NY. G.O.
No.: 4, 12 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, on 12 May 1944, near
Mount Damiano, Italy. As 2d Lt. Shea and his company were advancing toward
a hill occupied by the enemy, 3 enemy machineguns suddenly opened fire,
inflicting heavy casualties upon the company and halting its advance. 2d
Lt. Shea immediately moved forward to eliminate these machinegun nests
in order to enable his company to continue its attack. The deadly hail
of machinegun fire at first pinned him down, but, boldly continuing his
advance, 2d Lt. Shea crept up to the first nest. Throwing several hand
grenades, he forced the 4 enemy soldiers manning this position to surrender,
and disarming them, he sent them to the rear. He then crawled to the second
machinegun position, and after a short fire fight forced 2 more German
soldiers to surrender. At this time, the third machinegun fired at him,
and while deadly small arms fire pitted the earth around him, 2d Lt. Shea
crawled toward the nest. Suddenly he stood up and rushed the emplacement
and with well-directed fire from his rifle, he killed all 3 of the enemy
machine gunners. 2d Lt. Shea's display of personal valor was an inspiration
to the officers and men of his company.
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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