[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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