Army Tech. survived the final bitter winter of World War II. Sgt. Germans had Charles Andrew MacGillivary and his group under siege for several weeks. Despite suffering serious wounds, MacGillivary took out several enemy positions on his own to escape the grim situation. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and leadership during a crucial period of the war.  ,
On January 7, 1917, MacGillivary was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. At the age of 16, he immigrated to the United States to live with his brother in Boston. The younger MacGillivary enlisted in the Merchant Marines and spent the following years navigating various ships across the North Atlantic. He was prepared to make a change, though, as soon as World War II broke out in Europe, the Atlantic became more hazardous for ships due to the threat of German submarines torpedoing them. In addition,  ,
MacGillivary enlisted in the Army not long after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. He claimed that the Navy attempted to sign him in 1999 when recruiters discovered he had served in the Merchant Marines while testifying before the U.S. Senate immigration subcommittee. He continued on his path with the Army, though, because he wanted to return to land.  ,
When MacGillivary was offered U.S. citizenship two weeks after signing up, he claimed to be at Fort Devons in Massachusetts. Naturally, he took it. In addition,  ,
MacGillivary was sent to Scotland to train alongside British commandos after completing basic training with the 44th Infantry Division’s 71st Infantery Regiment. MacGillivary participated in the Normandy invasion that started on June 6, 1944, and landed on Omaha Beach. In addition,  ,
The 44th had made its way through France to the town of Woelfing, which was located along the German border, by mid-December. When Adolf Hitler launched the Battle of the Bulge, a surprise counterattack that was Germany’s final significant attempt to defeat the Allies, they were in that situation. In addition,  ,
On. MacGillivary was a platoon sergeant for the 463rd Battalion’s Company I on December 17, 1944, when they were pinned down by the German 17th Panzer Division. His commander and lieutenant were killed, making him the highest-ranking soldier in the group. He quickly assumed control of the business, which kept the line in place for as long as it could.  , ++
However, the chilly weather made it harder for them to replenish their supplies. By Christmas Day, they were consuming frozen oatmeal, according to MacGillivary. He claimed that they ran out of food and ammunition in a matter of days. The Germans were threatening to feed his soldiers if they gave up. Many people, according to MacGillivary, were thinking about it, so he had to remind them to keep fighting and that there was nothing they could give up.  , ++
Enemy forces finally breached the line and launched an attack on January 1, 1945. While another company drew closer from a different angle to attack other strongpoints, MacGillivary offered to take out the enemy machine gun positions because he knew where they were.  , ++
” I had a responsibility to take action as the leader of my company. He told the Senate subcommittee,” I made the decision to try to take out some of the German machine guns that were encircling us. ” I believed that this was our only means of escape,”nbsp
MacGillivary snuck up on the first machine gun emplacement and made his way there by circling through snow and woods. The other enemy forces in the position withdrew after he fired two camouflaged gunners from a short distance away.  , ++
He persisted, stalking the enemy to locate another one of its machine guns while grenading its crew with whatever cover he could find. MacGillivary took a submachine gun from the battlefield and moved to within 10 yards of another machine gun before being noticed. The crew members in that position attempted to kill him quickly by swinging their weapon around, but they were unable to do so. The young sergeant charged them, leaped into the fray, and fired several bursts of his gun, killing everyone.  ,
From there, MacGillivary snuck, crawled, and dashed from tree to tree until he was close enough to another machine gun nest to fire a grenade at it. The crew inside perished in the explosion, but MacGillivary suffered serious injuries from the machine gun’s gunshot wounds to his chest, leg, and arm.  , ++
In 1999, he told the Senate subcommittee,” It took some of my arm off.” The snow was the only thing that kept me alive. In the snow, I became frozen. I would have bled to death if I had been struck in the South Pacific.
According to MacGillivary, some Frenchmen picked him up and started driving him somewhere. He initially believed he had been captured, but claimed to have realized otherwise after a chaplain informed him that they were returning him to an aid station. After receiving treatment there, D. C. MacGillivary’s arm was unable to be saved, but he recovered fully. He was then taken to Marseille before being brought to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington.  ,
During his one-man battle, MacGillivary killed four enemy machine guns, disregarding his own safety to help his fellow soldiers carry on the battle with the fewest casualties possible. On August 23, 1945, President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor in recognition of his valor. 28 additional veterans also took home the medal that day. In addition,  ,
In 1999, MacGillivary remarked,” I was extremely honored to have been one of so many distinguished recipients.” ” I was also extremely proud that I had been chosen to receive this award as an immigrant,” 
After the ceremony, MacGillivary went back to Boston and wed his girlfriend Ester, who had been waiting for him throughout the war. They eventually made their home and had three daughters in Braintree, which is close to Boston.  ,
From around 1950 to 1975, MacGillivary reportedly served as a special agent for the Customs Bureau, which is now known as U.S. Border Protection. He continued to be involved in veteran organizations like the American Legion, AMVETS, and Veterans of Foreign Wars. In the 1970s, he served as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s president for two years. He also oversaw searches for additional immigrants who had received the award for bravery. In addition,  ,
According to his family, MacGillivary passed away on June 24, 2000, from complications related to a stroke. Arlington National Cemetery is where he is interred.  , ++
One of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have won the U.S. military’s highest medal for bravery is highlighted in this article, which is part of a weekly series called” Medal of Honour Monday.”