*GAMMON, ARCHER T.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant,
U.S. Army, Company A, 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Division. Place and
date: Near Bastogne, Belgium, 11 January 1945. Entered service at: Roanoke,
Va. Born: 11 September 1918, Chatham, Va. G.O. No.: 18, 13 February
1946.
Citation:
He charged 30 yards through hip-deep snow to knock out a machinegun and its 3-man crew
with grenades, saving his platoon from being decimated and allowing it to continue its
advance from an open field into some nearby woods. The platoon's advance through the woods
had only begun when a machinegun supported by riflemen opened fire and a Tiger Royal tank
sent 88mm. shells screaming at the unit from the left flank. S/Sgt. Gammon, disregarding
all thoughts of personal safety, rushed forward, then cut to the left, crossing the width
of the platoon's skirmish line in an attempt to get within grenade range of the tank and
its protecting foot troops. Intense fire was concentrated on him by riflemen and the
machinegun emplaced near the tank. He charged the automatic weapon, wiped out its crew of
4 with grenades, and, with supreme daring, advanced to within 25 yards of the armored
vehicle, killing 2 hostile infantrymen with rifle fire as he moved forward. The tank had
started to withdraw, backing a short distance, then firing, backing some more, and then
stopping to blast out another round, when the man whose single-handed relentless attack
had put the ponderous machine on the defensive was struck and instantly killed by a direct
hit from the Tiger Royal's heavy gun. By his intrepidity and extreme devotion to the task
of driving the enemy back no matter what the odds, S/Sgt. Gammon cleared the woods of
German forces, for the tank continued to withdraw, leaving open the path for the gallant
squad leader's platoon.
