Arthur Otto Beyer

The Tank Destroyer Gunner Who Walked Into Enemy Fire On January 15, 1945, near Arloncourt, Belgium, Corporal Arthur Otto Beyer climbed out of his M18 tank destroyer while German machine guns, rifles and antitank weapons were holding up the American advance. He went forward on foot and alone. By the time his attack was over, two enemy machine gun positions had been destroyed, eight German soldiers had been killed and 18 had surrendered, including members of two bazooka teams. Beyer's actions broke the German defensive line and allowed his task force to continue toward its objective. That extraordinary morning during the fighting around the Battle of the Bulge would make this former Midwestern mechanic one of America's most distinguished World War II soldiers. Tank Destroyer Arthur Otto Beyer was born on May 20, 1909, in Rock Township, Mitchell County, Iowa, and grew up around St. Ansgar. His parents, Richard J. Beyer and Anna Louise Rachut, were immigrants from Luxembourg. After his father died in 1916, Arthur completed the eighth grade and went to work to help support his mother and siblings. Long before he became a Medal of Honor recipient, he developed the practical mechanical skills that would later prove valuable in the rapidly mechanizing U.S. Army. Tank Destroyer By 1941, Beyer was living in Ogema, Minnesota, and working as an automobile mechanic. He entered the U.S. Army on February 20, 1941, months before the United States entered World War II. In November he was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps, then recalled to active service on February 25, 1942. His experience with machinery helped lead him into armored warfare, and he was eventually assigned to Company C, 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion. The battalion was equipped with the fast, lightly armored M18 tank destroyer, armed with a powerful 76 mm gun. A wartime War Department press release specifically identified Beyer as an M18 gunner with Company C. Tank Destroyer The 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion sailed from New York in April 1944 and reached England on April 18. Three months later it landed at Utah Beach and entered combat during Operation Cobra on July 28. Beyer and the battalion fought across France, advancing through Brittany before moving east toward the Moselle, Nancy and the Saar. In December 1944, the 603rd was shifted toward the Bastogne area as American forces counterattacked during the Battle of the Bulge. The battalion's official campaign history credits it with Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. Tank Destroyer Then came Arloncourt. Beyer's Medal of Honor citation records that his platoon was stopped by enemy antitank, machine gun and rifle fire from a ridge approximately 200 yards ahead. Spotting one machine gun, Beyer fired his 76 mm cannon, killed one member of its crew and silenced the position. Instead of remaining behind the protection of his vehicle, he dismounted and crossed open ground under direct German observation. He captured the two surviving members of the first machine gun crew, then came under fire from another machine gun roughly 250 yards away. Beyer advanced through the fire, threw a grenade into the second emplacement, killed one of its crew and captured two more soldiers. Tank Destroyer He still did not stop. Beyer continued roughly a quarter of a mile along the ridge, attacking German soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades. According to the official citation, his solo assault ultimately destroyed two machine gun positions, killed eight enemy soldiers and resulted in the capture of 18 prisoners, including two bazooka teams. The citation praised his "conspicuous gallantry in action" and credited his determination with eliminating the German defense line and enabling the task force to reach its objective. The Medal of Honor was formally recorded in General Orders No. 73, dated August 30, 1945. Tank Destroyer Arloncourt was not Beyer's only remarkable combat action. A contemporary War Department Bureau of Public Relations press release confirms that he also received the Bronze Star Medal for his performance as a tank destroyer gunner. On April 8, 1945, near Marolterode, Germany, his company came under direct fire from two German 88 mm assault guns and supporting infantry during an enemy counterattack. Battalion headquarters credited Beyer's quick thinking and superior gunnery with knocking out both guns and playing a major role in repulsing the attack. This contemporary War Department account provides the specific combat basis for his Bronze Star Medal. Tank Destroyer The 603rd continued east through Germany. It crossed the Our River, fought through the Siegfried Line, reached the Rhine in March and crossed at Oppenheim on March 25. During the final advance through central Germany, the battalion helped liberate Buchenwald on April 11, 1945, before reaching the limit of its advance around Mittweida. Tank Destroyer Beyer's complete wartime ribbon entitlement reflects far more than the two individual decorations for which narrative combat citations survive. In addition to the Medal of Honor and Bronze Star Medal, his service supports the American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Army of Occupation Medal. His European campaign ribbon carries one silver service star, representing the 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion's five credited campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. Period medal research specifically identifies photographs of Beyer wearing the American Defense Service Medal ribbon, while the battalion's campaign record establishes the five European campaigns. Orders & Medals Society of America The American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal recognize qualifying wartime service rather than a single act of gallantry, so they do not have personal narrative citations like the Medal of Honor. The same applies to the Army of Occupation Medal. After combat ended in Europe, Beyer remained overseas with the occupation forces in Germany. Army regulations required 30 consecutive days of qualifying occupation service in Germany beginning May 9, 1945, with prior EAME eligibility for service during the immediate postwar period. Beyer's continued occupation service before his return to the United States satisfies that requirement. Tank Destroyer While still in Europe, Beyer was offered the choice of receiving his Medal of Honor from his theater commander or returning to the United States for a White House presentation. He chose Washington. On August 23, 1945, President Harry S. Truman personally presented Arthur O. Beyer with the Medal of Honor at the White House. By the end of his Army service, Beyer had attained the rank of Sergeant. Congressional Medal of Honor Society After the war, Beyer returned to a quieter life. He worked as a farmhand near Buffalo, North Dakota, and later owned land near Ogema, Minnesota. In 1962 he married Marion Hicks. The following year he returned to the White House with other Medal of Honor recipients for a special reception hosted by President John F. Kennedy. It was a rare return to national attention for a man whose greatest moment had occurred almost two decades earlier on a Belgian ridge. Tank Destroyer Arthur Otto Beyer died on February 17, 1965, near Buffalo, North Dakota, at the age of 55. He was buried at Immanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery in St. Ansgar, Iowa, the community with which his military service and Medal of Honor accreditation remain closely associated. Congressional Medal of Honor Society Beyer's story is more than the story of a Medal of Honor recipient. It is the story of an Iowa mechanic who became an M18 tank destroyer gunner, fought from Normandy into Germany, earned a Bronze Star with his cannon, and then, when his armored vehicle could take him no farther, climbed out under enemy fire and continued the fight on foot. His actions at Arloncourt remain an extraordinary example of individual courage during World War II, and his name stands permanently among the soldiers of the 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion whose service carried them from the beaches of Normandy to victory in Europe. Tank Destroyer