Paul Bert Huff

HE CROSSED A MINEFIELD ALONE TO DESTROY AN ENEMY MACHINE GUN

Paul Bert Huff was born in Cleveland, Tennessee, on 23 June 1918. He enlisted in the Army in 1941 and volunteered for airborne service. On 8 November 1942, he took part in the Army’s first combat parachute insertion, during Operation Torch in North Africa. He later served with the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in Italy.

On 8 February 1944, near Carano, German fire threatened the exposed flank of Huff’s company on the Anzio beachhead. Corporal Huff volunteered to lead a six-man patrol to locate and assess the enemy positions. The team crossed open ground under machine-gun, small-arms and mortar fire. When three machine guns and a 20-millimeter weapon began firing on them, Huff moved ahead alone to keep the rest of the patrol out of greater danger. He crossed a minefield, reached an enemy machine-gun position, killed its crew and disabled the weapon. He then identified the strength and location of the remaining defenders, returned to his patrol and reported the information. Later that day, he led part of the force sent against the German position. His reconnaissance helped the Americans overcome the opposing company.

Huff received the Medal of Honor from Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark in Rome on 8 June 1944. After returning to the United States, he joined an airborne demonstration tour to raise war bonds. He remained in the Army, rose to command sergeant major and deployed to Vietnam in 1967 as the senior noncommissioned officer of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade. After more than 30 years of service, he retired and spent his later years with his wife, Betty, and daughter, Dawn. He died on 21 September 1994 and was buried at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Cleveland, Tennessee.

MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, in action on 8 February 1944, near Carano, Italy. Cpl. Huff volunteered to lead a six-man patrol with the mission of determining the location and strength of an enemy unit which was delivering fire on the exposed right flank of his company. The terrain over which he had to travel consisted of exposed, rolling ground, affording the enemy excellent visibility.

As the patrol advanced, its members were subjected to small-arms and machine-gun fire and a concentration of mortar fire, shells bursting within 5 to 10 yards of them and bullets striking the ground at their feet. Moving ahead of his patrol, Cpl. Huff drew fire from three enemy machine guns and a 20-mm weapon. Realizing the danger confronting his patrol, he advanced alone under deadly fire through a minefield and arrived at a point within 75 yards of the nearest machine-gun position.

Under direct fire from the rear machine gun, he crawled the remaining 75 yards to the closest emplacement, killed the crew with his submachine gun, and destroyed the gun. During this act he fired from a kneeling position which drew fire from other positions, enabling him to estimate correctly the strength and location of the enemy. Still under concentrated fire, he returned to his patrol and led his men to safety.

As a result of the information he gained, a patrol in strength sent out that afternoon, one group under the leadership of Cpl. Huff, succeeded in routing an enemy company of 125 men, killing 27 Germans, and capturing 21 others, with a loss of only three patrol members. Cpl. Huff's intrepid leadership and daring combat skill reflect the finest traditions of the American infantryman.