Congressional Medal of Honor Society

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Korean War - U.S. Army

Nelson Vogel Brittin

Details
  • Rank: Sergeant First Class
  • Conflict/Era: Korean War
  • Unit/Command:
    Company I, 3d Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment,
    24th Infantry Division
  • Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
  • Medal of Honor Action Date: March 7, 1951
  • Medal of Honor Action Place: Yonggong-ni, Korea
Citation
Sfc. Brittin, a member of Company I, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. Volunteering to lead his squad up a hill, with meager cover against murderous fire from the enemy, he ordered his squad to give him support and, in the face of withering fire and bursting shells, he tossed a grenade at the nearest enemy position. On returning to his squad, he was knocked down and wounded by an enemy grenade. Refusing medical attention, he replenished his supply of grenades and returned, hurling grenades into hostile positions and shooting the enemy as they fled. When his weapon jammed, he leaped without hesitation into a foxhole and killed the occupants with his bayonet and the butt of his rifle. He continued to wipe out foxholes and, noting that his squad had been pinned down, he rushed to the rear of a machine-gun position, threw a grenade into the nest, and ran around to its front, where he killed all three occupants with his rifle. Less than 100 yards up the hill, his squad again came under vicious fire from another camouflaged, sandbagged, machine-gun nest well-flanked by supporting riflemen. Sfc. Brittin again charged this new position in an aggressive endeavor to silence this remaining obstacle and ran directly into a burst of automatic fire which killed him instantly. In his sustained and driving action, he had killed 20 enemy soldiers and destroyed four automatic weapons. The conspicuous courage, consummate valor, and noble self-sacrifice displayed by Sfc. Brittin enabled his inspired company to attain its objective and reflect the highest glory on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.
Medal of Honor Recipient Nelson V. Brittin
Medal of Honor Recipient Nelson V. Brittin
Additional Details
  • Accredited to: Audubon, Camden County, New Jersey
  • Awarded Posthumously: Yes
  • Presentation Date & Details: January 16, 1952
    The Pentagon, presented by the Sec. of Defense Robert Lovett to his parents
  • Born: October 31, 1920, Audubon, Camden County, NJ, United States
  • Died: March 7, 1951, Yonggong-ni, Korea
  • Buried: Beverly National Cemetery (MH) (DS-2), Beverly, NJ, United States
 

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