bravest of the brave: The 3rd Infantry Division in World War II, The

Army, Nov 2003 by Broadwater, Robert P

The men of the 3rd Division were awarded 15 Medals of Honor for their service in Italy. Conspicuous gallantry and heroism were evidenced daily in the struggle to take Rome. The first 3rd Division Medal of Honor in the Italian campaign was earned by Capt. Maurice Britt for his actions near Mignano on November 10. Britt was commanding a small portion of his company when they were attacked by over 100 Germans as part of a counterattack along the line. Despite the overwhelming odds, Britt and his men held their position. Though wounded in the side by a bullet and in the face and hands by grenade fragments, Britt refused to give up the fight. Firing his carbine until he had run out of ammunition, he then picked up an M1 and continued to battle the Germans, throwing a total of 32 fragmentation grenades in addition to his small arms fire. Britt wiped out a machine-gun crew, killed another five Germans, wounded an unknown number and captured another four. Britt's personal courage was largely responsible for thwarting the German counterattack, which, if successful, would have cut off and isolated his battalion. He refused medical attention for himself, seeing to his men instead, until ordered to seek aid by his battalion commander.

Sgt. Sylvester Antolak was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism exhibited during the breakout from Anzio, near Cisterna di Littoria, on May 24,1944. Antolak was leading his squad in an attack on the German position when they ran into heavy fire from machine guns, machine pistols and other small arms. The hail of bullets was tremendous, and the squad hesitated amidst the storm. Antolak pushed forward alone, a full 30 yards in front of his men. He was seriously wounded and knocked to the ground three different times, but rose to continue his one-man attack on each occasion. His left shoulder had been badly gashed, and his right arm was shattered and useless, but he wedged his sub-machine gun under his left armpit and charged the German strong point, closing to a distance of 15 yards before spraying the position with bullets. Two Germans were killed and another 10 surrendered. Antolak, refusing medical attention, then reorganized his men and launched an attack against a second German strong point 100 yards away. Again in advance of his men, he had covered a distance of 75 yards when he was killed instantly by enemy fire. His heroic example so inspired his men that they surged forward and captured the position.

The fall of Rome and the Allied control of Italy should have earned the 3rd Division a well deserved period of rest. They had seen some of the bloodiest combat of the war to date and had performed in an exemplary manner through all the trials and hardships of three separate campaigns. With a total of 17 Medals of Honor credited to the unit, it would already have been awarded more than any other division had they sat out the rest of the war as garrison troops in Rome, but rest and rear echelon duty had never been the role of the 3rd Division. After a short period to refit and reorganize, the division received orders to make yet another amphibious landing, this time in southern France. Fighting on French soil, 16 additional members of the 3rd Division would be awarded the Medal of Honor.