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close enough to throw a grenade into the German position. He rushed the bunker and, with pointblank rifle fire, killed all the hostile occupants who survived the grenade blast. Another machinegun opened up on him, knocking him down and seriously wounding him in the hip. Refusing to withdraw from the battle, he placed himself at the head of his platoon to continue the assault. As withering machinegun and rifle fire swept the area, he struck out alone in advance of his men to a second bunker. With a grenade, he crippled the dug-in machinegun defending this position and then wiped out the troops manning it with his rifle, completing his second self-imposed, 1-man attack. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused to be evacuated until assured the mission was successfully accomplished. Through quick thinking, indomitable courage, and unswerving devotion to the attack in the face of bitter resistance and while wounded, M/Sgt. Oresko killed 12 Germans, prevented a delay in the assault, and made it possible for
Company C to obtain its objective with minimum casualties.
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M/Sgt. Oresko was a platoon leader with
Company C, in an attack against strong enemy positions. Deadly automatic fire from the flanks pinned down his unit. Realizing that a machinegun in a nearby bunker must be eliminated, he swiftly worked ahead alone, braving bullets which struck about him, until
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bunker position that was armed with a machine gun. Seriously wounded by another enemy machine gun from another bunker, he attacked that bunker under fire and destroyed that enemy position. Nine months later on
October 30, 1945, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. President
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He joined the US Army in March 1942. He was sent to Europe and arrived in France in
September 1944, three months after the
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249:' initial push through the northern part of France. In December 1944, the 94th Division was redeployed to replace the
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In
September 2017, an Army Reserve Army School System Building at Fort Lee, VA was named in his honor.
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In 2015, the
Ukrainian Institute of National Memory produced posters depicting ten outstanding
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On
October 4, 2013, Oresko died after suffering complications from surgery for a broken
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695:"Обращение Президента по случаю Дня победы над нацизмом во Второй мировой войне"
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640:"New Jerseyans observe Memorial Day through different perspectives"
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Master
Sergeant Oresko's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
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Burials at George
Washington Memorial Park (Paramus, New Jersey)
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who fought during World War II. Among them was
Nicholas Oresko.
669:"Nicholas Oresko of Cresskill, World War II hero, dies at 96"
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formally presented Oresko the medal during a ceremony at the
189:(January 18, 1917 – October 4, 2013) was an American combat
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Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
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Oresko single-handedly and under enemy fire, took out a
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Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (in Ukrainian)
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On May 9, 2020, Oresko was mentioned in a speech by
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George Washington Memorial Park, Paramus, New Jersey
261:. The 94th Division assumed positions opposite the
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526:List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
32:Nicholas Oresko, Medal of Honor recipient, in 2001
609:"Medal of Honor recipients - World War II (M-S)"
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443:European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
217:on January 18, 1917. He was the descendant of
766:World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
667:Evonne and Abbott Koloff (October 10, 2013).
617:United States Army Center of Military History
8:
761:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
756:United States Army personnel of World War II
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15:
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498:Victory Day over Nazism in World War II
237:sergeant in Company C, 1st Battalion,
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771:American people of Ukrainian descent
741:Military personnel from New Jersey
699:Office of the President of Ukraine
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746:People from Cresskill, New Jersey
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736:People from Bayonne, New Jersey
638:Considine, Bob (May 30, 2010).
1:
594:WWII Army Enlistment Records
201:for his valorous actions in
751:United States Army soldiers
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701:(in Ukrainian). 2020-05-09
557:Workman Publishing Company
453:World War II Victory Medal
272:On January 23, 1945, near
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149:302nd Infantry Regiment,
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613:Medal of Honor citations
407:Combat Infantryman Badge
97:United States of America
545:Collier, Peter (2006).
461:Medal of Honor citation
438:American Campaign Medal
431:Army Good Conduct Medal
309:. He was 96 years old.
239:302nd Infantry Regiment
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251:90th Infantry Division
243:94th Infantry Division
151:94th Infantry Division
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205:on January 23, 1945.
123:Years of service
68:Englewood, New Jersey
491:President of Ukraine
267:11th Panzer Division
675:on December 4, 2013
494:Volodymyr Zelenskyy
215:Bayonne, New Jersey
213:Oresko was born in
51:Bayonne, New Jersey
650:Newark, New Jersey
117:United States Army
566:978-1-57965-314-9
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457:
421:Bronze Star Medal
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313:Awards and honors
265:and the German's
231:Normandy landings
197:who received the
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175:Bronze Star Medal
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671:. Archived from
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656:on June 2, 2010.
652:. Archived from
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446:with two bronze
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559:. p. 204.
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187:Nicholas Oresko
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61:October 4, 2013
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619:. June 8, 2009
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65:(aged 96)
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703:. Retrieved
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621:. Retrieved
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475:Other honors
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426:Purple Heart
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291:Harry Truman
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225:World War II
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195:World War II
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179:Purple Heart
161:World War II
157:Battles/wars
63:(2013-10-04)
731:2013 deaths
726:1917 births
679:December 5,
295:White House
253:as part of
720:Categories
705:2023-05-29
532:References
481:Ukrainians
259:Third Army
85:Allegiance
44:1917-01-18
274:Tettingen
209:Biography
126:1942–1945
553:New York
504:See also
263:Westwall
103:Service/
278:Germany
235:platoon
203:Germany
191:veteran
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286:German
247:Allies
167:Awards
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105:branch
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70:, U.S.
53:, U.S.
307:femur
301:Death
681:2013
625:2007
561:ISBN
233:. A
146:Unit
131:Rank
58:Died
38:Born
257:'s
193:of
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
