Staff Sergeant Robert H. Dietz, U.S. Army
— Co. A, 38th Armored Infantry Battalion —
CITATION: "Sergeant Dietz was a squad leader with Company A, 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, on 29 March 1945, when the task force to which his unit was attached encountered resistance in its advance on Kirchain, Germany. Between the town's outlying buildings three hundred yards distance and the stalled armored columns were a mine-field and two bridges defended by German rocket-launching teams and riflemen. From the town itself came heavy small arms fire. Moving forward with his men to protect engineers while they removed the mine-field, and the demolition charges attached to the bridges, Sergeant Dietz came under intense fire. On his own initiative he advanced alone, scorning the bullets which struck all about him, until he was able to kill the bazooka team, bayoneted an enemy soldier armed with a panzerfaust and shot two more Germans when he was knocked to the ground by the blast of another panzerfaust. He quickly recovered, killed the man who had fired at him and then jumped into waist-deep water under the second bridge to disconnect the demolition charges. His work was completed; but as he stood up to signal that the route was clear he was killed by an enemy volley from the left flank. Sergeant Dietz by his intrepidity and valiant effort on his self-imposed mission, singlehandedly opened the road for the capture of Kirchain and left with his comrades an inspiring example of gallantry in the face of formidable odds." Harry S. Truman President of the United States| HM Number | HM1ORV |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Year Placed | 1954 |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Thursday, October 22nd, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18T E 580775 N 4643027 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 41.93508333, -74.02565000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 41° 56.105', W 74° 1.539' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 41° 56' 6.3" N, 74° 1' 32.34" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 914, 845 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling East |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near Municipal Stadium Rd, Kingston NY 12401, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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