batter(s) up
Staff. Sgt. William F. Leonard
"is being recognized for his valorous actions while serving as a squad leader with Company C, 30th Infantry, on Nov. 7, 1944, near St. Die, France. Leonard's platoon was reduced to eight men by blistering artillery, mortar, machine-gun, and rifle power. Leonard led the survivors in an assault over a tree-and-shrub-covered hill, continuously swept by automatic fire. Killing two snipers at ranges of 50 and 75 yards, he disregarded bullets that pierced his back to engage and destroy a machine-gun with rifle grenades, killing its two-man crew. Stunned by an exploding bazooka shell, he continued his relentless advance to knock out a second a machine-gun and capture the roadblock objective." He died in 1985.
Master Sgt. Manuel V. Mendoza
"is being recognized for his actions on Oct. 4, 1944, in Mt. Battaglia, Italy, where he is credited with single-handedly breaking up a German counterattack." A longer Army account of his actions says that "the enemy launched a violent counterattack preceded by a heavy mortar barrage. Mendoza, already wounded in the arm and leg, grabbed a Thompson sub-machine-gun and ran to the crest of the hill, where he saw approximately 200 enemy troops charging up the slopes employing flame-throwers, machine pistols, rifles, and hand grenades. Mendoza immediately began to engage the enemy, firing five clips and killing 10 enemy soldiers." He died at the age of 79.
don't be such a pussy