to cross the bridge and flush out several tanks with his
bazooka. Captain Hodges and the men from the 51st did not
recognize this unknown hero, nor did they have an
opportunity in the heat of battle to ask his name, but
After
they were all loud in their praise of his action.
Private Ishmael had knocked out his tank, mortar fire
started coming in fairly heavily around the bridge site.
Another enemy tank started to edge along the road from
Erezee toward the bridge; still another came directly
Three shots were
toward the bridge from the northeast.
fired from the 7th Armored tank. The third one hit the
enemy tank approaching from the northeast, knocking it out
and killing the crew.
On later inspection it was found
that the tank was loaded with U.S. GI equipment. The tank
had reached within 75 yards of the bridge when it was
knocked out. The other enemy tank approaching from Erezee
slid in behind some buildings on the northeast side of the
river.
It was close enough to the bridge to menace the
Captain Hodges relates
personnel guarding the bridge.
that at this time an unknown soldier approached him at the
bridge and said:
"Captain, I'll flush out that tank over
there." "Well, boy, go ahead," Captain Hodges replied.
The unnamed soldier took off alone across the bridge
with a bazooka and two rounds of ammunition in his pocket.
He was seen ducking into a building on the far right
corner of the bridge. Shortly thereafter the personnel at
the bridge heard a smash like a bazooka round and the
enemy tank pulled up between two buildings so that part of
its hull was showing out of an aperture of only two
feet between the buildings. The 7th Armored Division tank
fired accurately through this two-foot opening, destroying
the tank. Expending all but two rounds of its ammunition,
this tank remained in position, unscathed, near the
Captain Hodges e s t i m a t e s that it destroyed or
bridge.
damaged at least four enemy tanks and scared away several
others.81
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