Edward A. Silk

Out of grenades, surrounded by enemy fire, and facing a heavily defended German stronghold, Edward A. Silk reached for an unlikely weapon: rocks. What happened next became one of the most extraordinary acts of individual courage of World War II. Armed with little more than determination, he forced twelve German soldiers to surrender and earned the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration.

Born on June 8, 1916, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Edward A. Silk was the youngest of eleven children of Irish immigrant parents. After losing his father at an early age, he spent part of his childhood at Mooseheart in Illinois. Those difficult beginnings helped shape a young man whose courage would later be tested on the battlefields of Europe.

Silk joined the U.S. Army Reserve in April 1941 and entered active duty on August 31, 1942. After earning his commission, he deployed to France in October 1944 with the 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, known as the Century Division. By November, First Lieutenant Silk was commanding the weapons platoon of Company E as American forces advanced through the heavily defended Vosges Mountains.

On November 23, 1944, near St. Pravel, France, Silk's battalion was advancing toward strategic high ground overlooking Moyenmoutier. A German-held farmhouse brought the advance to a halt. Enemy machine guns pinned down an American squad, and fifteen minutes of supporting fire failed to suppress the defenders. Rather than allow his men to remain trapped, Silk decided to attack the strongpoint alone.

Running 100 yards across exposed ground, he reached a low stone wall before charging another 50 yards through intense gunfire. He hurled a grenade through a farmhouse window, destroying a machine-gun position and killing its two operators. When a second machine gun opened fire from a nearby woodshed, Silk rushed toward it and eliminated that position with grenades.

Then his grenades ran out. But Silk refused to retreat.

Returning to the farmhouse, he began throwing rocks through a window while demanding the surrender of the remaining defenders. Confused by his relentless assault, twelve German soldiers surrendered to the lone American officer. His extraordinary initiative eliminated the strongpoint and enabled his battalion to continue its advance.

For this action, Silk received the Medal of Honor, formally recorded in War Department General Orders No. 97, dated November 1, 1945. His official citation recognized his exceptional courage, personal initiative and willingness to accept extraordinary danger in order to protect his comrades and accomplish the mission. President Harry S. Truman personally presented the medal at the White House on October 12, 1945.

Yet the farmhouse assault was not his only recognized wartime achievement. Silk also received the Silver Star for gallantry against German forces at Goetzenbruck, France, recorded in Headquarters, 100th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 202 (1945). The wartime awards history of the 398th Infantry Regiment additionally lists him as a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, further documenting his distinguished service.

After World War II, Silk continued his military career, serving in Germany and other assignments before attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. In December 1954, he assumed command of the ROTC detachment at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where he helped prepare another generation of officers.

His remarkable life ended prematurely on November 19, 1955, at just 39 years old, following complications from intestinal ulcers. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his service and sacrifice remain honored.

Edward A. Silk's legacy is not defined simply by the medals he received or the enemy soldiers he captured. It lives in a moment when one officer, facing overwhelming fire and seemingly impossible odds, refused to let his comrades remain in danger. His story reminds us that extraordinary heroism sometimes begins with a single decision: to act when retreat would be easier.