Maurice Lee Britt

One man. Thirty-two grenades. A hundred enemy soldiers. And a determination to fight that even serious wounds could not break.

Maurice Lee “Footsie” Britt, the Arkansas football player who became a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient, brought the same relentless drive to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Born in Carlisle, Arkansas, on 29 June 1919, he played football and basketball at the University of Arkansas, graduated in journalism in 1941 and played professionally for the Detroit Lions before entering wartime active service. His continuous overseas deployment carried him through North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

In the Italian campaign, Britt assumed command after his company commander was wounded and led his men against German resistance. This leadership is associated with his Silver Star and the fighting at Acerno. It foreshadowed the extraordinary stand that would bring him the nation’s highest military decoration.

North of Mignano on 10 November 1943, First Lieutenant Britt faced approximately 100 German attackers with only a handful of men. A bullet pierced his side, and grenade fragments wounded his chest, face and hands. He kept fighting, throwing 32 fragmentation grenades and destroying a machine-gun crew. His Medal of Honor citation credits him with killing five Germans, wounding others, helping captured Americans escape and enabling the capture of four enemy soldiers. His resistance helped avert the isolation of his battalion and destruction of his company. The award was announced in War Department General Orders No. 23, dated 24 March 1944.

At Anzio, courage again meant stepping into the open. Near Campo on 24 January 1944, now Captain Britt directed supporting fire while his company was pinned down. His Distinguished Service Cross citation describes how he coordinated mortar, artillery and tank-destroyer fire, helped operate a machine gun from a house and finally led his men forward. Headquarters, Seventh U.S. Army, General Orders No. 106, dated 7 November 1944, recognized that extraordinary heroism.

Britt also received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and four Purple Hearts. Britain awarded him the Military Cross, and Italy recognized him with a military valor decoration. On 12 February 1944, enemy artillery inflicted devastating injuries that cost him his right arm and ended his frontline service. He returned home to receive his Medal of Honor at the University of Arkansas commencement ceremony in 1944.

His service continued beyond the battlefield. Britt built a business career, served as Arkansas lieutenant governor from 1967 to 1971 and directed the Arkansas district office of the Small Business Administration from 1971 to 1985. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1986. He died in Little Rock on 26 November 1995 and was buried at Little Rock National Cemetery. From the football field to Mignano and public office, Britt’s legacy rests on determined leadership when others depended on him.