Army Master Sergeant Sgt. When discussing the most important decisions he made during World War II, Nicholas Oresko frequently stressed that being alone was the hardest part.  ,
In an interview with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project in the early 2000s, he said,” You do n’t know what it feels like to be alone in a situation like that.”  , ++
Oresko persisted despite being by himself in chilly Germany during a late-war enemy counterattack, paving the way for his company to accomplish their goal. He received the Medal of Honor for his bravery and valor. In addition,  ,
Oresko was born on January 18, 1917, in Bayonne, New Jersey, to a Russian immigrant father and an American mother. Oresko claimed that despite being only 5’4″, he enjoyed playing sports as a child. Charles Lindbergh was one of his heroes when he was younger, which inspired him to consider becoming a pilot for some time. In addition,  ,
Oresko was employed by Standard Oil’s shipping division prior to the war. About three months after getting married to his girlfriend Jean Strang, he was drafted into the Army in March 1942. He was initially assigned to the 77th Infantry Division, but he later changed his regiment’s name to that of the 1st Battalion, 302nd InfantRY, 94th. In addition,  ,
Oresko’s division had been sent to France by the end of the summer of 1944. They were supposed to be a reserve unit, he told the Veterans History Project, but when the Battle of the Bulge—Histor’s final significant assault to surprise the Allies—started, they were sent to the front lines in Germany. In addition,  ,
During the chilly months of early 1945, Oresko served as Company C’s platoon commander. In the town of Tettingen, Germany, his platoon twice over the course of two days attacked enemy positions but was repulsed both times. Instead of using artillery to signal their next attempt, battalion leaders ordered a sneak attack. In addition,  ,
On January 23, 1945, Oresko gave the order for his men to launch the attack, but nobody moved. He claimed that after giving the order a second time, they once more remained motionless, so he moved toward the enemy without them.  , ++
” I felt so alone,” Oresko remarked. I cried out,” Lord, I know I’m going to die,” as I looked up at the sky. Let’s just get it over with quickly. The phrase”  ,”
He claimed that a cold wave passed over him and that at that point, he became numb and began to move instinctively. In addition,  ,
The Germans did n’t notice me as I emerged from the trenches on my own, moving through the snow step by step, he claimed. In addition,  ,
When the Germans noticed the movement and opened fire, they pin the unit down. His fellow soldiers eventually began to follow him, but they were about 50 feet behind him.  , ++
But Oresko had still gone unnoticed. He continued to move covertly until he was close enough to throw a grenade into the enemy bunker, knowing that in order to assist his soldiers, the closest machine gun nest would need to be removed. After it went off, he rushed inside and used his rifle to kill the remaining occupants. In addition,  ,
Oresko was hit by fire from a second machine gun nest, which caused him to fall to the ground and seriously hurt his hip. In addition,  ,
He recalled,” I could feel warm stuff coming down my leg as I started to walk. I continued to stutter forward and thought,” Oh well.” What difference does it make if I already die? ” ,
Oresko claimed that while bleeding, he crawled past a booby trap that narrowly missed him and then lay in an indentation in the snow for some time. He claimed that because they started firing at his troops from a nearby bunker, the enemy must have believed he was dead. The enemy bunker was in front of Oresko, making it impossible for him to retreat into the firefight. He knew what he had to do at that precise moment. In addition,  ,
He sneaked up to the machine gun at that bunker, grabbed a few grenades, and pulled the pin on one before dropping the live bomb inside. He jumped back into the trench after it went off and used his rifle to kill the last of the enemy soldiers manning it.  ,
In his lone attack, Oresko is credited with killing 12 Germans, allowing his company to seize control of the enemy position. He did n’t allow his fellow soldiers to evacuate him until he was certain they had been successful.  , ++
Oresko was taken to a hospital to recover because he was weak from blood loss. Eventually, he was assigned to a limited duty assignment before being let go in November 1945. He claimed that he never again saw his platoon’s members. In addition,  ,
Oresko was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945, during a ceremony at the White House. On that day, the nation’s highest honor was also bestowed upon fourteen additional soldiers.  ,
Robert was the name of the son Oresko and his wife had after they relocated to Tenafly, New Jersey. Initially, Oresko went back to his previous position, but when he learned that Medal of Honor recipients could work for the Department of Veterans Affairs without taking the civil service exam, the man jumped at the opportunity and spent 32 years there.  , ++
It was a joy, according to Oresko, who described his post-war career, which included speaking engagements at schools. That period of my life was fruitful. The phrase”  ,
He revealed to the Asbury Park Press in 1978 that he and his wife had visited Germany and France at some point and had been able to show her some of the battlegrounds. They frequently traveled to London, where their son resided and worked, he claimed.  , ++
After complications from surgery for a broken leg—the same leg that was hurt during Oresko’s Medal of Honor actions—he passed away on October 4, 2013. The 96-year-old was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient at the time of his passing.  , ++
Oresko had no family to accompany him when he went to the hospital for the surgery because his wife passed away in 1980 and his son in 2013. Oresko was accompanied by veterans and service members who stayed by his side the entire time, according to his obituary published in the Northern Valley Suburbanite newspaper out of Englewood, New Jersey.  ,
Oresko is laid to rest in Paramus, New Jersey’s George Washington Memorial Park.  , ++
There is no doubt that his memory will live on. In 2010, Oresko’s honor was bestowed upon a school in his hometown of Bayonne. A new training facility was named in his honor in 2018 by the Army Reserve’s 94th Training Division at Fort Gregg- Adams, Virginia. In Tenafly, a park and monument were erected in Oresko’s honor that same year. In addition to  ,
One of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have won the U.S. military’s highest medal for bravery is the subject of this article, which is part of a weekly series called” Military of Honour Monday.”