Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Private First Class), U.S. Army, Company A, 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Padiglione, Italy, 23-24 April 1944. Entered service at: Louisville, Ky. Birth: Louisville, Ky. G.O. No.: 78, 2 October 1944. Citation... For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. At the start of his company's attack on strongly held enemy positions in and around Spaccasassi Creek, near Padiglione,
Italy, on the night of 23-24 April 1944, Pfc. Squires, platoon
messenger, participating in his first offensive action, braved
intense artillery, mortar, and antitank gun fire in order to
investigate the effects of an antitank mine explosion on the
leading platoon. |
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Despite shells which burst close to him, Pfc.Squires made his
way 50 yards forward to the advance element, noted the
situation, reconnoitered a new route of advance and informed his
platoon leader of the casualties sustained and the alternate
route. Acting without orders, he rounded up stragglers,
organized a group of lost men into a squad and led them forward.
When the platoon reached Spaccasassi Creek and established an
outpost, Pfc. Squires, knowing that almost all of the
noncommissioned officers were casualties, placed 8 men in
position of his own volition, disregarding enemy machinegun,
machine-pistol, and grenade fire which covered the creek draw.
When his platoon had been reduced to 14 men, he brought up
reinforcements twice. On each trip he went through barbed wire
and across an enemy minefield, under intense artillery and
mortar fire. Three times in the early morning the outpost was
counterattacked. Each time Pfc. Squires ignored withering enemy
automatic fire and grenades which struck all around him, and
fired hundreds of rounds of rifle, Browning automatic rifle, and
captured German Spandau machinegun ammunition at the enemy,
inflicting numerous casualties and materially aiding in
repulsing the attacks. Following these fights, he moved 50 yards
to the south end of the outpost and engaged 21 German soldiers
in individual machinegun duels at point-blank range, forcing all
21 enemy to surrender and capturing 13 more Spandau guns.
Learning the function of this weapon by questioning a German
officer prisoner, he placed the captured guns in position and
instructed other members of his platoon in their operation. The
next night when the Germans attacked the outpost again he killed
3 and wounded more Germans with captured potato-masher grenades
and fire from his Spandau gun. Pfc. Squires was killed in a
subsequent action. | |
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