Rank: Technical Sergeant (Highest Rank: First Lieutenant)
Conflict/Era: World War II
Unit/Command: Weapons Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 381st Infantry, 96th Infantry Division
Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Action Date: April 13, 1945
Medal of Honor Action Place: Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands
Citation
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. When a powerfully conducted predawn Japanese counterattack struck his unit's flank, he ordered his men to take cover in an old tomb, and then, armed only with a carbine, faced the onslaught alone. After emptying one magazine at point-blank range into the screaming attackers, he seized an enemy mortar dud and threw it back among the charging Japs, killing several as it burst. Securing a box of mortar shells, he extracted the safety pins, banged the bases upon a rock to arm them and proceeded alternately to hurl shells and fire his piece among the fanatical foe, finally forcing them to withdraw. Despite the protests of his comrades, and bleeding profusely from a severe shrapnel wound, he made his way to his company commander to report the action. TSgt. Anderson's intrepid conduct in the face of overwhelming odds accounted for 25 enemy killed and several machine guns and knee mortars destroyed, thus singlehandedly removing a serious threat to the company's flank.
Medal of Honor Recipient Beauford T. Anderson
Additional Details
Accredited to: Soldiers Grove, Crawford County, Wisconsin
Awarded Posthumously: No
Presentation Date & Details: June 14, 1946 The White House, Presented by Pres. Harry S. Truman
Born: July 6, 1922, Eagle, Waukesha County, WI, United States
Died: November 7, 1996, Salinas, CA, United States
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery (MH) (44-292); remains moved from Mission Memorial Park, Seaside, California, Arlington, VA, United States
Location of Medal:
Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Madison, WI