Ernest W. Prussman (September 15, 1921WWII Army Enlistment Records
/ref> – September 8, 1944) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

—for his actions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

He was born in 1921 in

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to Herbert Werner Prussman. Prussman joined the Army from

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as " ...

in October 1942 and by September 8, 1944, was serving as a private first class in the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. On that day, near Loscoat (now an industrial district of Brest) in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

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, Prussman advanced ahead of his unit and single-handedly captured several enemy soldiers and destroyed a machine gun nest before being killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor seven months later, on April 17, 1945. Prussman was buried at the

Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Saint-James, Lower Normandy, Normandy, France, near the northeastern edge of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. It contains the remains of 4,410 of World War II American soldiers, ...

Saint-James Saint-James () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, the former communes of Argouges, Carnet, La Croix-Avranchin, Montanel, Vergoncey and Villiers-le-Pré were merged into Saint-Jame ...

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, France.

Medal of Honor citation

Private First Class Prussman's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on September 8, 1944, near Les Coates '' Loscoat">ost probably a wrong transcription of Loscoat', Brittany, France. When the advance of the flank companies of 2 battalions was halted by intense enemy mortar, machinegun, and
sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...
fire from a fortified position on his left, Pfc. Prussman maneuvered his squad to assault the enemy fortifications. Hurdling a hedgerow, he came upon 2 enemy riflemen whom he disarmed. After leading his squad across an open field to the next hedgerow, he advanced to a machinegun position, destroyed the gun, captured its crew and 2 riflemen. Again advancing ahead of his squad in the assault, he was mortally wounded by an enemy rifleman, but as he fell to the ground he threw a handgrenade, killing his opponent. His superb leadership and heroic action at the cost of his life so demoralized the enemy that resistance at this point collapsed, permitting the 2 battalions to continue their advance.

Memorial

A statue of Prussman was dedicated on Memorial Day 2018 at 1 Murdock Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Boston College provided a grant for the statue. Jeff Buccacio was the sculptor.
Honoring a Medal of Honor recipient in Brighton

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prussman, Ernest W. 1944 deaths United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers 1921 births World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Deaths by firearm in France

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

Memorial

See also

References