Medal of Honor Recipient
Side A
In Honor of
Sgt. Sylvester Antolak US Army
Medal of Honor
in action taken near
Cisterna Di Littoria
Italy
May 24, 1944
resident of Richmond Township
Side B
Sylvester Antolak
Sergeant US Army Company B
15th Infantry
3rd Infantry Division
near Cisterna Di Littoria, Italy
May 24, 1944
he charged 200 yards over flat, coverless
terrain to destroy an enemy machine gun nest
during the second day of the offensive
which broke through the German
cordon of steel around the Anzio beachhead.
Fully 30 yards in advance of his squad,
he ran into withering enemy machine gun,
machine- pistol and rifle fire.
Three times he was struck by bullets
and knocked to the ground, but each time he
struggled to his feet to continue
his relentless advance.
With one shoulder deeply gashed and
and his right arm shattered, he continued
to rush directly into the enemy fire
concentration with his machine gun
wedged under his uninjured arm until
within 15 yards of the enemy strong point,
where he opened fire at deadly close range,
killing two Germans and forcing the remaining
10 to surrender. He reorganized his men and
refusing to seek medical attention so badly needed,
chose to lead the way toward another
strong point 100 yards distant.
Utterly disregarding the hail of bullets
concentrated on him, he had stormed ahead
nearly three- fourths of the space between
strong points when he was instantly killed by
hostile enemy fire. Inspired by his example,
his squad went on to overwhelm the enemy troops.
By his supreme sacrifice, superb fighting courage,
and heroic devotion to the attack,
Sgt. Antolak was directly responsible
for eliminating 20 Germans,
capturing an enemy machine gun,
and clearing the path for his company to advance.
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