*HALLMAN, SHERWOOD H.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S.
Army, 175th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. Place and date: Brest, Brittany,
France, 13 September 1944. Entered service at: Spring City, Pa. Birth:
Spring City, Pa. G.O. No: 31, 17 April 1945.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of
duty. On 13 September 1944, in Brittany, France, the 2d Battalion in its attack on the
fortified city of Brest was held up by a strongly defended enemy position which had
prevented its advance despite repeated attacks extending over a 3-day period. Finally,
Company F advanced to within several hundred yards of the enemy position but was again
halted by intense fire. Realizing that the position must be neutralized without delay,
S/Sgt. Hallman ordered his squad to cover his movements with fire while he advanced alone
to a point from which he could make the assault. Without hesitating, S/Sgt. Hallman leaped
over a hedgerow into a sunken road, the central point of the German defenses which was
known to contain an enemy machinegun position and at least 30 enemy riflemen. Firing his
carbine and hurling grenades, S/Sgt. Hallman, unassisted, killed or wounded 4 of the
enemy, then ordered the remainder to surrender. Immediately, 12 of the enemy surrendered
and the position was shortly secured by the remainder of his company. Seeing the surrender
of this position, about 75 of the enemy in the vicinity surrendered, yielding a defensive
organization which the battalion with heavy supporting fires had been unable to take. This
single heroic act on the part of S/Sgt. Hallman resulted in the immediate advance of the
entire battalion for a distance of 2,000 yards to a position from which Fort Keranroux was
captured later the same day. S/Sgt. Hallman's fighting determination and intrepidity in
battle exemplify the highest tradition of the U.S. Armed Forces.
