Frank D. Peregory

Technical Sergeant Frank D. Peregory

Frank Dabney Peregory was born at Esmont, Virginia, on 10 April 1916. His surname was actually Peregoy, but it was mistakenly entered as “Peregory” when he enlisted, and that spelling remained in his official military record.

Following his mother’s death in 1931, Peregory left school to help support his large family. That May, although only fifteen, he overstated his age and joined Company K, known as the “Monticello Guard,” of the 116th Infantry Regiment, Virginia National Guard.

Peregory’s unit entered federal service on 3 February 1941 and became part of the 29th Infantry Division. While stationed in North Carolina after the United States entered the war, he rescued a fellow soldier who was in danger of drowning. For this act of non-combat heroism, he received the Soldier’s Medal.

After extensive training in Britain, Peregory landed with the 116th Infantry on Omaha Beach on 6 June 1944. Two days later, near Grandcamp-Maisy, his battalion’s advance was stopped by German machine-gun fire from fortified positions on high ground. Artillery and tank fire failed to silence the position. Acting alone and on his own initiative, Peregory advanced through intense fire, entered an enemy trench and attacked with grenades and his bayonet. He killed eight German soldiers and compelled thirty-five more, including the machine-gun crews, to surrender. His actions opened the way for his battalion to capture its objective.

Six days later, on 14 June 1944, Peregory was killed in action while fighting in the Normandy hedgerows. He was twenty-eight years old. His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously and presented to his widow, Bessie, at Charlottesville, Virginia, on 5 June 1945.

Technical Sergeant Peregory is buried in Plot G, Row 21, Grave 7 of the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, France. He was the only Virginia National Guardsman awarded the Medal of Honor for service during the Second World War. Virginia National Guard⁠ and Congressional Medal of Honor Society⁠

Medal of Honor Citation

On 8 June 1944, the 3d Battalion of the 116th Infantry was advancing on the strongly held German defenses at Grandcampe, France, when the leading elements were suddenly halted by decimating machine-gun fire from a firmly entrenched enemy force on the high ground overlooking the town. After numerous attempts to neutralize the enemy position by supporting artillery and tank fire had proved ineffective, T/Sgt. Peregory, on his own initiative, advanced up the hill under withering fire and worked his way to the crest, where he discovered an entrenchment leading to the main fortifications 200 yards away. Without hesitating, he leaped into the trench and moved toward the emplacement. Encountering a squad of enemy riflemen, he fearlessly attacked them with hand grenades and bayonet, killed eight, and forced three to surrender. Continuing along the trench, he singlehandedly forced the surrender of 32 more riflemen, captured the machine gunners, and opened the way for the leading elements of the battalion to advance and secure its objective. The extraordinary gallantry and aggressiveness displayed by T/Sgt. Peregory are exemplary of the highest traditions of the Armed Forces.