Sherwood Henry Hallman

When a German strongpoint halted the advance of his battalion outside Brest, Staff Sergeant Sherwood H. Hallman made a decision that changed the course of the battle. Advancing alone into the heart of the enemy defenses, he broke a position that had resisted repeated attacks and helped open the way for his battalion to advance. His extraordinary courage on 13 September 1944 earned him the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration. The following day, he was killed in action.

Sherwood Henry Hallman was born on 29 October 1913 in Spring City, Pennsylvania. He left school during the Great Depression to help support his family, worked grooming horses at the local racetrack and later entered the grocery trade. In 1939, he established Sherry's Modern Market, a mobile grocery business serving his community. He married Virginia Dieter on 4 January 1942 and entered the United States Army on 8 January 1943. Following infantry training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, he was sent overseas in May 1943 and eventually assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division.

The 175th Infantry landed at Omaha Beach on 7 June 1944, one day after the initial D-Day assault. Hallman served with the regiment through the Normandy and Northern France campaigns before the division moved into Brittany to help capture the fortified German port of Brest.

On 13 September 1944, Company F was stopped by intense fire from a strongly defended German position. Hallman ordered his squad to provide covering fire, advanced alone and leapt into a sunken road at the centre of the German defenses. Armed with his carbine and grenades, he killed or wounded four enemy soldiers before demanding the surrender of the remaining defenders. Twelve Germans surrendered immediately, followed by approximately 75 more in the surrounding position. His action enabled the battalion to advance 2,000 yards and helped open the way to Fort Keranroux.

For this extraordinary act of gallantry, Hallman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor under War Department General Orders No. 31, dated 17 April 1945. His official citation recognized his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Hallman was killed by a German sniper on 14 September 1944, just one day after his heroic action. His two Purple Hearts recognized his Normandy wound and his fatal wounds at Brest. His campaign service is represented by the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars and the World War II Victory Medal. His Medal of Honor was presented to his widow, Virginia, and their young son at a ceremony in Philadelphia on 31 May 1945. He was laid to rest at the Brittany American Cemetery in Saint-James, France. His story remains a powerful testament to courage, leadership under fire and the extraordinary determination of the American infantryman.