The
President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March
3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to
Private
James H. Mills
UNITED STATES ARMY
*MILLS, JAMES H.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company F, 15th Infantry, 3d
Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 24 May
1944. Entered service at: Fort Meade, Fla. Birth: Fort Meade, Fla. G.O. No.: 87,
14 November 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of
life above and beyond the call of duty. Pvt. Mills, undergoing his baptism of
fire, preceded his platoon down a draw to reach a position from which an attack
could be launched against a heavily fortified strongpoint. After advancing about
300 yards, Pvt. Mills was fired on by a machinegun only S yards distant. He
killed the gunner with 1 shot and forced the surrender of the assistant gunner.
Continuing his advance, he saw a German soldier in a camouflaged position behind
a large bush pulling the pin of a potato-masher grenade. Covering the German
with his rifle, Pvt. Mills forced him to drop the grenade and captured him. When
another enemy soldier attempted to throw a hand grenade into the draw, Pvt.
Mills killed him with 1 shot. Brought under fire by a machinegun, 2 machine
pistols, and 3 rifles at a range of only 50 feet, he charged headlong into the
furious chain of automatic fire shooting his M 1 from the hip. The enemy was
completely demoralized by Pvt. Mills' daring charge, and when he reached a point
within 10 feet of their position, all 6 surrendered. As he neared the end of the
draw, Pvt. Mills was brought under fire by a machinegunner 20 yards distant.
Despite the fact that he had absolutely no cover, Pvt. Mills killed the gunner
with 1 shot. Two enemy soldiers near the machinegunner fired wildly at Pvt.
Mills and then fled. Pvt. Mills fired twice, killing 1 of the enemy. Continuing
on to the position, he captured a fourth soldier. When it became apparent that
an assault on the strongpoint would in all probability cause heavy casualties on
the platoon, Pvt. Mills volunteered to cover the advance down a shallow ditch to
a point within 50 yards of the objective. Standing on the bank in full view of
the enemy less than 100 yards away, he shouted and fired his rifle directly into
the position. His ruse worked exactly as planned. The enemy centered his fire on
Pvt. Mills. Tracers passed within inches of his body, rifle and machine pistol
bullets ricocheted off the rocks at his feet. Yet he stood there firing until
his rifle was empty. Intent on covering the movement of his platoon, Pvt. Mills
jumped into the draw, reloaded his weapon, climbed out again, and continued to
lay down a base of fire. Repeating this action 4 times, he enabled his platoon
to reach the designated spot undiscovered, from which position it assaulted and
overwhelmed the enemy, capturing 22 Germans and taking the objective without
casualties.
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