The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to
CHOATE, CLYDE L.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 601st
Tank Destroyer Battalion. Place and date: Near Bruyeres, France, 25 October 1944.
Entered service at: Anna, 111. Born: 28 June 1920, West Frankfurt, 111. G.O.
No.: 75, 5 September 1945.
Citation:
He commanded a tank destroyer near Bruyeres, France, on 25 October 1944.
Our infantry occupied a position on a wooded hill when, at dusk, an enemy Mark IV tank and
a company of infantry attacked, threatening to overrun the American position and capture a
command post 400 yards to the rear. S/Sgt. Choate's tank destroyer, the only weapon
available to oppose the German armor, was set afire by 2 hits. Ordering his men to abandon
the destroyer, S/Sgt. Choate reached comparative safety. He returned to the burning
destroyer to search for comrades possibly trapped in the vehicle risking instant death in
an explosion which was imminent and braving enemy fire which ripped his jacket and tore
the helmet from his head. Completing the search and seeing the tank and its supporting
infantry overrunning our infantry in their shallow foxholes, he secured a bazooka and ran
after the tank, dodging from tree to tree and passing through the enemy's loose skirmish
line. He fired a rocket from a distance of 20 yards, immobilizing the tank but leaving it
able to spray the area with cannon and machinegun fire. Running back to our infantry
through vicious fire, he secured another rocket, and, advancing against a hail of
machinegun and small-arms fire reached a position 10 yards from the tank. His second shot
shattered the turret. With his pistol he killed 2 of the crew as they emerged from the
tank; and then running to the crippled Mark IV while enemy infantry sniped at him, he
dropped a grenade inside the tank and completed its destruction. With their armor gone,
the enemy infantry became disorganized and was driven back. S/Sgt. Choate's great daring
in assaulting an enemy tank single-handed, his determination to follow the vehicle after
it had passed his position, and his skill and crushing thoroughness in the attack
prevented the enemy from capturing a battalion command post and turned a probable defeat
into a tactical success.
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