John Meagher

Technical Sergeant · U.S. Army

U.S. Army, Company E, 305th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division

19 June 1945 · Ozato, Okinawa

Branch: U.S. Army
Era: World War II
Home state: New Jersey
Action: Ozato, Okinawa

The citation

Official citation

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. In the heat of the fight, he mounted an assault tank, and, with bullets splattering about him, designated targets to the gunner. Seeing an enemy soldier carrying an explosive charge dash for the tank treads, he shouted fire orders to the gunner, leaped from the tank, and bayoneted the charging soldier. Knocked unconscious and his rifle destroyed, he regained consciousness, secured a machinegun from the tank, and began a furious 1-man assault on the enemy. Firing from his hip, moving through vicious crossfire that ripped through his clothing, he charged the nearest pillbox, killing 6. Going on amid the hail of bullets and grenades, he dashed for a second enemy gun, running out of ammunition just as he reached the position. He grasped his empty gun by the barrel and in a violent onslaught killed the crew. By his fearless assaults T/Sergeant. Meagher single-handedly broke the enemy resistance, enabling his platoon to take its objective and continue the advance.

Sources

U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.