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Rank and organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, 379th Infantry,
100th Infantry Division. Place and date: Rimling, France, 8-9 January 1945.
Entered service at: Cheyenne, Wyo. Birth: Canadian, Okla. G.O. No.: 53,
July 1945. Citation: He was in command of an antitank platoon when about
200 enemy infantrymen and 12 tanks attacked his battalion, overrunning
part of its position. After losing his guns, T/Sgt. Carey, acting entirely
on his own initiative, organized a patrol and rescued 2 of his squads from
a threatened sector, evacuating those who had been wounded. He organized
a second patrol and advanced against an enemy-held house from which vicious
fire issued, preventing the free movement of our troops. Covered by fire
from his patrol, he approached the house, killed 2 snipers with his rifle,
and threw a grenade in the door. He entered alone and a few minutes later
emerged with 16 prisoners. Acting on information he furnished, the American
forces were able to capture an additional 41 Germans in adjacent houses.
He assembled another patrol, and, under covering fire, moved to within
a few yards of an enemy tank and damaged it with a rocket. As the crew
attempted to leave their burning vehicle, he calmly shot them with his
rifle, killing 3 and wounding a fourth. Early in the morning of 9 January,
German infantry moved into the western part of the town and encircled a
house in which T/Sgt. Carey had previously posted a squad. Four of the
group escaped to the attic. By maneuvering an old staircase against the
building, T/Sgt. Carey was able to rescue these men. Later that day, when
attempting to reach an outpost, he was struck down by sniper fire. The
fearless and aggressive leadership of T/Sgt. Carey, his courage in the
face of heavy fire from superior enemy forces, provided an inspiring example
for his comrades and materially helped his battalion to withstand the German
onslaught.
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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