Joseph F. Merrell Military person

Joseph Frederick Merrell (August 21, 1926 – April 18, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.Merrell joined the Army from his birthplace of Staten Island in August 1944 (a week after his 18th birthday), and by April 18, 1945 was serving as a private in Company I, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On that day, near Lohe (An suburb of Nuremberg), Germany, he single-handedly attacked German positions which were firing on his unit. He disabled two enemy machine gun emplacements and killed nearly two dozen German soldiers before he was himself killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (now on exhibit at Fort Wadsworth) ten months later, on February 26, 1946.Merrell, aged 18 at his death, was buried in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, New York.

Personal facts

Birth dateAugust 21, 1926
Birth place
Staten Island , New York
Date of deathApril 18, 1945
Place of death
Germany
Resting place
West New Brighton Staten Island

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Military person

allegianceUnited States of America
award
Purple Heart
Medal of Honor
military operations
World War II
military branch
United States Army
military unit
3rd Infantry Division (United States)
15th Infantry Regiment (United States)
service start1944
service end1945

Joseph F. Merrell on Wikipedia

External resources

  1. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/wwII-m-s.html