Congressional Medal of Honor Society

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World War II - U.S. Army

Jack Lemaster Treadwell

Details
  • Rank: Captain (rank at time of action: First Lieutenant)
  • Conflict/Era: World War II
  • Unit/Command:
    Company F, 180th Infantry,
    54th Infantry Division
  • Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
  • Medal of Honor Action Date: March 18, 1945
  • Medal of Honor Action Place: near Nieder-Wurzbach, Germany
Citation
Capt. Treadwell (then 1st Lt.), commanding officer of Company F, near Nieder-Wurzbach, Germany, in the Siegfried line, singlehandedly captured six pillboxes and 18 prisoners. Murderous enemy automatic and rifle fire with intermittent artillery bombardments had pinned down his company for hours at the base of a hill defended by concrete fortifications and interlocking trenches. Eight men sent to attack a single point had all become casualties on the bare slope when Capt. Treadwell, armed with a submachine gun and hand grenades, went forward alone to clear the way for his stalled company. Over the terrain devoid of cover and swept by bullets, he fearlessly advanced, firing at the aperture of the nearest pillbox and, when within range, hurling grenades at it. He reached the pillbox, thrust the muzzle of his gun through the port, and drove four Germans out with their hands in the air. A fifth was found dead inside. Waving these prisoners back to the American lines, he continued under terrible, concentrated fire to the next pillbox and took it in the same manner. In this fort he captured the commander of the hill defenses, whom he sent to the rear with the other prisoners. Never slackening his attack, he then ran across the crest of the hill to a third pillbox, traversing this distance in full view of hostile machine gunners and snipers. He was again successful in taking the enemy position. The Germans quickly fell prey to his further rushes on three more pillboxes in the confusion and havoc caused by his whirlwind assaults and capture of their commander. Inspired by the electrifying performance of their leader, the men of Company F stormed after him and overwhelmed resistance on the entire hill, driving a wedge into the Siegfried line and making it possible for their battalion to take its objective. By his courageous willingness to face nearly impossible odds and by his overwhelming one-man offensive, Capt. Treadwell reduced a heavily fortified, seemingly impregnable enemy sector.
Medal of Honor Recipient Jack L. Treadwell
Medal of Honor Recipient Jack L. Treadwell
Additional Details
  • Accredited to: Snyder, Kiowa County, Oklahoma
  • Awarded Posthumously: No
  • Presentation Date & Details: August 23, 1945
    The White House, presented by Pres. Harry S. Truman
  • Born: March 31, 1919, Ashland, Clay County, AL, United States
  • Died: December 12, 1977
  • Buried: Fort Sill Post Cemetery (MH) (Y-11-8), Fort Sill, OK, United States
  • Location of Medal: The 45th Infantry Division Museum (duplicate Medal), Oklahoma City, OK
 

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