Van Thomas Barfoot

Stormed machine-gun nests and stopped a German tank

Van T. Barfoot earned the Medal of Honor for breaking German defensive positions and confronting an armored counterattack near Carano, Italy, on 23 May 1944. Serving as a technical sergeant with Company L, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, he moved alone around the enemy flank while his platoon faced entrenched opposition.

Crawling toward the first machine-gun nest, Barfoot attacked with a hand grenade. He then advanced to a second emplacement, overcoming its defenders with his Thompson submachine gun. A third machine-gun crew surrendered, and he continued clearing nearby positions until he had captured 17 German soldiers.

Later that day, three German tanks advanced against his platoon. Taking an exposed position with a bazooka, Barfoot fired from approximately 75 yards and destroyed the leading tank’s track, stopping it while the others changed direction. He then engaged the escaping crew and destroyed an abandoned German field gun with a demolition charge. Despite exhaustion, he helped two seriously wounded comrades reach safety approximately 1,700 yards away.

Born on 15 June 1919 in Edinburg, Mississippi, Barfoot enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1940. His military career carried him from the infantry battlefields of World War II through service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1944, he received his Medal of Honor from Lieutenant General Alexander Patch at Épinal, France, on 28 September that year.

Barfoot continued serving for three decades after his Medal of Honor action, eventually becoming senior Army adviser to the Virginia National Guard. He retired as a colonel in 1974 after 34 years of service and settled in Virginia. He died on 2 March 2012, aged 92.

On 24 March 2023, the Virginia National Guard installation formerly known as Fort Pickett was renamed Fort Barfoot in his honor, recognizing a career defined by courage, leadership and service to his fellow soldiers.