Edward Andrew Bennett, Jr.

One enemy machine-gun position had stopped an American company. Corporal Edward Andrew Bennett Jr. decided to silence it himself. What followed at Heckhuscheid, Germany, on 1 February 1945 became one of the most extraordinary close-combat actions of the Second World War and earned Bennett the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

Edward Andrew Bennett Jr. was born on 11 February 1920 in Middleport, Ohio. He entered the United States Army during the Second World War and eventually joined Company B, 1st Battalion, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. By early 1945, the 90th Division was fighting its way into Germany, and Bennett, then a corporal, was serving on the front line with his infantry company.

Just after dark on 1 February 1945, Company B advanced across open ground toward the German village of Heckhuscheid. Enemy machine-gun fire suddenly erupted from a house on the outskirts of the town, pinning down the American troops and causing several casualties. Rather than remain under cover, Bennett began crawling toward the edge of the field, attempting to work his way around the position. The German gunners spotted him in the light of burning buildings and fired in his direction, but Bennett reached a stand of trees and continued moving by a longer route toward the rear of the enemy-held house.

At the back of the building, Bennett encountered a German sentry and killed him with his trench knife. He then entered the darkened house alone. Inside was a room occupied by seven German soldiers. In the violent fight that followed, Bennett killed three with his rifle, struck down another with the rifle butt, and killed the remaining three with his .45-caliber pistol. His attack destroyed the position that had been cutting into Company B and allowed the American advance through Heckhuscheid to continue. The official Medal of Honor citation credited Bennett's initiative and gallantry with eliminating the fire that had been devastating his company's ranks.

For his actions at Heckhuscheid, Corporal Edward A. Bennett was awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. President Harry S. Truman personally presented the medal to Bennett in the White House Rose Garden on 12 October 1945. The award was formally published in War Department General Orders No. 95, dated 30 October 1945.

Bennett's combat record extended well beyond the single action for which he received the Medal of Honor. Military Times records that he also earned the Silver Star and four Purple Hearts during the Second World War. Published recipient biographies additionally list the Bronze Star Medal among his decorations. His four Purple Hearts are particularly significant, reflecting repeated wounds during wartime service and placing the celebrated action at Heckhuscheid within a much broader record of front-line combat.

The end of the Second World War did not end Bennett's military career. He was later commissioned as an Army officer and served in Korea. Over the years he advanced from the enlisted corporal who fought at Heckhuscheid to the rank of Major in the United States Army. The Department of Veterans Affairs records both his Second World War and Korean War period service and confirms his final rank as major. Bennett retired from the Army in 1962 after a career that had taken him from an infantry battlefield in Germany to commissioned service during the Korean War era.

Major Edward Andrew Bennett Jr. died on 2 May 1983, aged 63. He was laid to rest at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, where his grave preserves the name of a soldier whose extraordinary courage at Heckhuscheid had helped save his comrades and break a deadly enemy position. His legacy remains inseparable from the 358th Infantry Regiment, the 90th Infantry Division, and the remarkable act of individual combat courage for which he received the Medal of Honor.