Freeman V. Horner

Cleared machine-gun positions blocking his company

Freeman Victor Horner was born in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, on 7 June 1922. He served as a staff sergeant in Company K, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division during World War II.

At Würselen, Germany, on 16 November 1944, machine-gun and artillery fire pinned his company in open ground. Horner stood and advanced with his submachine gun, ammunition and grenades. He killed two gunners at one position, then charged two more machine guns.

Their crews withdrew into a cellar. Horner entered the building, threw grenades down the stairs and secured four prisoners. His actions cleared the way for the company's assault.

President Harry S. Truman presented his Medal of Honor on 12 October 1945. Horner later reached the rank of major. He died in Columbus, Georgia, on 1 December 2005 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His citation honors the assault that released his company from its exposed position.

Medal of Honor citation

S/Sgt. Horner and other members of his company were attacking Wurselen, Germany, against stubborn resistance on 16 November 1944, when machine-gun fire from houses on the edge of the town pinned the attackers in flat, open terrain 100 yards from their objective. As they lay in the field, enemy artillery observers directed fire upon them, causing serious casualties. Realizing that the machine guns must be eliminated in order to permit the company to advance from its precarious position, S/Sgt. Horner voluntarily stood up with his submachine gun and rushed into the teeth of concentrated fire, burdened by a heavy load of ammunition and hand grenades. Just as he reached a position of seeming safety, he was fired on by a machine gun which had remained silent up until that time. He coolly wheeled in his fully exposed position while bullets barely missed him and killed two hostile gunners with a single, devastating burst. He turned to face the fire of the other two machine guns and, dodging fire as he ran, charged the two positions 50 yards away. Demoralized by their inability to hit the intrepid infantryman, the enemy abandoned their guns and took cover in the cellar of the house they occupied. S/Sgt. Horner burst into the building, hurled two grenades down the cellar stairs, and called for the Germans to surrender. Four men gave up to him. By his extraordinary courage, S/Sgt. Horner destroyed three enemy machine-gun positions, killed or captured seven enemy, and cleared the path for his company's successful assault on Wurselen.