[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 20 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 20
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should award a
medal of honor to Wayne T. Alderson in recognition of acts performed at
the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty while serving in the
United States Army during World War II.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 12, 1997
Mr. Doyle submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on National Security
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should award a
medal of honor to Wayne T. Alderson in recognition of acts performed at
the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty while serving in the
United States Army during World War II.
Whereas Wayne T. Alderson served as a private first class in the United States
Army in Germany during World War II;
Whereas during the Rhineland Campaign of such war, which was 4 days of close,
fierce combat from March 15 to March 18, 1945, Private First Class
Alderson singlehandedly killed 43 enemy soldiers;
Whereas according to The History of the Third Infantry Division, Private First
Class Alderson was the first soldier from the United States to cross
into Germany on March 15, 1945;
Whereas on March 15, 1945, Company B of the 7th Infantry Regiment, led by
Private First Class Alderson, crossed into Germany 1 mile south of
Utweiler to surprise the enemy troops and advanced through heavy, armed
resistance, machine gun crossfire, and a German mine field;
Whereas during such advancement, Private First Class Alderson spotted and
bypassed a German bunker and machine gun nest and entered into a close
fire fight, killing 6 enemy soldiers;
Whereas when a 2d enemy machine gun impeded such advancement, Private First
Class Alderson volunteered to advance alone, forged a stream, and waged
a singlehanded assault on the German machine gun crew, killing all 5 of
the crew as Second Lieutenant Barbour and Private First Class Preston,
along with the other soldiers of Company B, arrived to force the German
enemy soldiers to withdraw;
Whereas Company B continued to advance toward the town of Erching, where Private
First Class Alderson killed 2 enemy snipers who were impeding the
advance, and the town was captured as the enemy troops retreated;
Whereas Second Lieutenant Barbour and Lieutenant Colonel Wallace stated that
they intended to recommend Private First Class Alderson for high
military decoration;
Whereas on March 16 and 17, 1945, as Company B continued to attack and advance
toward the Siegfried Line, Private First Class Alderson killed 4 enemy
soldiers in close house-to-house fighting, captured 3 German prisoners,
and led the prisoners, at great risk to himself, past enemy positions to
the headquarters of Company B, where vital information concerning the
defenses of the Siegfried Line was obtained from the prisoners;
Whereas on March 18, 1945, Private First Class Alderson led Company B into its
4th consecutive day of battle at the Siegfried Line but then was cut off
from the company;
Whereas after Private First Class Alderson was cut off from Company B, he was
unable to find safe cover and charged forward, killing 6 enemy soldiers
in a close fire fight, then attacked the main entrance of a German
trench, killing 4 enemy defenders before capturing the front end of the
trench;
Whereas when the remnant of Company B, which was in the front portion of the
trench under the command of Captain James Rich and without radio
contact, was about to be overrun by a German counterattack, Private
First Class Alderson again volunteered to be first scout;
Whereas Private First Class Alderson immediately killed 4 advancing enemy
soldiers in bitter combat as he moved down the trench and engaged a
large German force that was advancing in an adjoining and interlocking
trench;
Whereas Private First Class Alderson, who was fully exposed and vastly
outnumbered, charged the enemy forces and entered into a fierce fire
fight with them at close range, killing 12 enemy soldiers as the German
counterattack was repelled and the enemy forces withdrew;
Whereas in such action, Private First Class Alderson received a serious head
wound from shrapnel when a German grenade landed at his feet and
exploded in his face;
Whereas the life of Private First Class Alderson was saved by the valorous
actions of Private First Class Preston, who covered the body of Private
First Class Alderson with his own body and was fatally wounded in the
head by the bullet of a sniper;
Whereas Private First Class Alderson, while he fought to remain conscious,
crawled back along the trench to brief Captain Rich on the events that
had occurred in the other end of the trench;
Whereas Captain Rich stated his intention to recommend to Colonel Heintges, the
commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment, that Private First Class
Alderson receive a medal of honor;
Whereas such recommendation has been verified by independent affidavit; and
Whereas Private First Class Alderson has been waiting for more than 47 years to
receive the medal of honor for which he was recommended and which he so
richly deserves: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that the President should award a
medal of honor to Wayne T. Alderson in recognition of acts performed at
the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty while serving as a
private first class in the United States Army in Germany during World
War II.
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