James Marion Logan

He captured an enemy machine gun on the beaches near Salerno

James Marion Logan (19 December 1920–9 October 1999) was a Texas National Guard soldier and U.S. Army sergeant whose actions during the Allied landing at Salerno, Italy, helped secure the beachhead and earned him the Medal of Honor. Raised in Luling, Texas, Logan joined the Texas National Guard in 1936 while still a teenager, initially concealing his age. His unit was mobilized for federal service as the United States prepared for war, and he went overseas with the 36th Infantry Division, the Texas National Guard division known as the “T-Patchers.”

Logan landed in Italy with the first assault wave on September 9, 1943. After his company advanced inland from the Gulf of Salerno, German forces counterattacked from a rock wall beyond an irrigation canal. Logan left cover under machine-gun fire, crossed exposed ground, and reached the wall. He killed the gun crew, seized the weapon, and turned it against the retreating attackers; he then captured two enemy soldiers who had tried to escape. Later that morning, he crossed another stretch of fire-swept ground to confront a sniper in a nearby house, shooting through the door lock and entering to stop the threat. The official citation credited his conspicuous gallantry with inspiring his company and materially helping ensure the success of the Salerno beachhead.

For the action, Logan received the Medal of Honor in 1944. He continued serving in Italy and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for another act of heroism during a German counterattack at Velletri on June 1, 1944. Wounded during the war, he returned to Texas in 1944 and left military service in 1945. He declined a battlefield commission and later worked in the oil industry, living quietly near Kilgore and raising a family. On 30 May 1997, he became the first recipient of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, the state’s highest military award. The Texas National Guard also named its Kilgore armory addition for him, and he visited schools to speak with children about service and patriotism. Logan died on 9 October 1999 and was buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin on 14 October.

This is a lifetime honours display, including the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor received in 1997. It is not a depiction of his 1945 uniform or a claim that state awards were authorized on every federal-service uniform.

MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION

Sergeant JAMES M. LOGAN (Army Serial Number 20803103) (then Private), Company I, * * * Infantry Regiment, United States Army. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action involving actual conflict on 9 September 1943, in the vicinity of Salerno, Italy. As rifleman of Company I, * * * Infantry, Sergeant Logan landed with the first wave of the assault echelon on the beaches of the Gulf of Salerno, and after Company I had advanced 800 yards inland and taken positions along the forward bank of an irrigation canal, the enemy began a serious counterattack from positions along a rock wall which ran parallel with the canal about 200 yards further inland. Voluntarily exposing himself to the fire of a machine gun located along the rock wall, which sprayed the ground so close to him that he was splattered with dirt and rock splinters from the impact of the bullets, Sergeant Logan killed the first three Germans as they came through a gap in the wall. He then attacked the machine gun. As he dashed across the 200 yards of exposed terrain a withering stream of fire followed his advance. Reaching the wall, he crawled along the base, within easy reach of the enemy crouched along the opposite side, until he reached the gun. Jumping up, he shot the two gunners down, hurdled the wall, and seized the gun. Swinging it around, he immediately opened fire on the enemy with the remaining ammunition, raking their flight and inflicting further casualties on them as they fled. After smashing the machine gun over the rocks, Sergeant Logan captured an enemy officer and private who were attempting to sneak away. Later in the morning, Sergeant Logan went after a sniper hidden in a house about 150 yards from the company. Again the intrepid Sergeant ran a gauntlet of fire to reach his objective. Shooting the lock off the door, Sergeant Logan kicked it in and shot the sniper who had just reached the bottom of the stairs. The conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity which characterized Sergeant Logan’s exploits proved a constant inspiration to all the men of his company, and aided materially in insuring the success of the beachhead at Salerno.