Valor Friday

Sometimes when conducting research for this article I come across a story that’s really unbelievable. I knew the story of Desmond Doss before the Hacksaw Ridge (2016) brought his epic bravery to wider audiences. I highlighted the story of a personal hero of mine a while back; Captain (Doctor) Ben Solomon. Today’s subject is similar to the latter. It’s a story you’ve likely never heard, and it’s one you are unlikely to ever forget.

Geno Merli hadn’t even graduated high school when he enlisted in the Army to join the Second World War in 1943. From the Scranton, Pennsylvania area, he was trained as an infantryman, and was assigned to the 18th Infantry Regiment.

The 18th Infantry Regiment dates back to the Civil War, where they served in the Western Theater and fought in several battles. Since then, they have participated in every war in which America has fought, excepting only the Korean War. World War II would have them see extensive service as part of the 1st Infantry Division. The were some of the first American ground forces to engage the enemy in the west, landing at Morocco and fighting their way across North Africa and Sicily. They missed out on fighting in mainland Italy, only to be pulled to Britain in preparation of the Invasion of Normandy.

It is here that Private First Class Merli, a machine gunner by trade, would join the 18th Infantry. On 6 June 1944, D-Day, the men of the 18th Infantry, Merli included, would push through heavy congestion to hit Omaha Beach in the Easy Red sector. They arrived at about 1000 hours, and fought off the beach by 1400 hours.

From there the 18th Infantry would spend the next 11 months in near constant action. They saw action in many well known battles, among them the Battle of Aachen, Battle of Hürtgen Forest, The Battle of the Bulge and the crossing at the Remagen bridgehead.

It was in the fighting in Northern France that Merli would distinguish himself in the most spectacular way. It was 4 September 1944 and he was part of a 14-man road block near Sars-la-Bruyère in Belgium. About 2000 hours, they reported 100 Germans were approaching their position. When the Americans opened fire on them, the Germans scattered.

They didn’t stay down long though, once they realized they had a significant numerical advantage. With the Germans now attacking, the defenders started to suffer casualties among their limited number. Two GIs were already dead, four were wounded, and the rest decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and that they should retreat.

Merli and his assistant remained at their gun to cover the retreat of their comrades. They were now the only target for the German assault. Not backing down in the face of the withering fire, Merli continued pouring lead into the Wehrmacht troops. Unfortunately for his brothers-in-arms, the Americans had already been surrounded. Most of them would soon be captured, but Merli would make the enemy pay a high price for them.

Four times the Germans tried to take his machine gun, and four times he repulsed them. They fought through the night to hold off the Germans. When the Germans finally took the position, at about 0400 hours on 5 September, they found the apparently lifeless bodies of Merli and his assistant. When the Nazi soldiers moved on, the two Americans opened fire on the Germans.

Again he fought off a German attack on his position, and again the Germans gunned them down. Retaking the machine gun position, the Germans again found the two dead GIs. The German troops were no fools this time. They wouldn’t be tricked by a men playing dead. To be sure, they prodded the bodies with their bayonets. Satisfied that the machine gunners were finally silenced for good, the Germans moved on. It turns out that they were fooled. While his assistant was indeed dead, Merli wasn’t. He’d taken several bayonet wounds to his buttocks without moving or making a sound. When the Germans turned their backs on him, up he came and raked them with machine gun fire.

Speaking of the second group of Wehrmacht troops to take his position, Merli recalls, “They said something in German. I assume it was that nobody was there. So when they moved on, I opened fire by myself.”

Day had now broken, and the Americans began a counter charge to retake the ground they had lost. Now the Germans were outnumbered and outgunned, and they sued for peace. The American negotiating party that went forward to meet the enemy found Merli still at his machine gun. Before him lay 52 dead Germans, with at least 19 directly in front of the weapon.

Merli’s company executive officer, First Lieutenant Albert Packwood Jr, wrote that “700 Germans surrendered, 85 other infantrymen came back from patrols and surrendered, and 106 wounded were captured.” Packwood credited Merli’s dogged last stand for taking the heart out of the Germans. Merli’s valiant and clever defense of the position had cost the enemy so dearly that they just gave up.

For his actions that day, Merli received the Medal of Honor from President Truman in June 1945 at a White House ceremony.

On the morning that he was recovered by his American comrades, Merli asked his commanding officer for permission to go to the village church to pray for the dead. He wanted to go pray for those lost – on both sides. Accompanied by his sergeant and other members of his squad they went to the church and prayed. He also told his CO, upon the officer telling him that he was going to recommend him for the Medal of Honot, that his assistant was more deserving and the “true” hero of the night.

“No matter how bitter you were against the enemy,” Merli said, “you still had the heart to pray for him. Because he was in the same boat as you and I.”

Merli would see continued service on the front line after that battle. He was involved in fighting during the Battle of the Bulge, being wounded twice in action there. He qualifies for two awards of the Presidential Unit Citation that the 18th Infantry received for fighting at Normandy and Aachen. He also received a unit-level award of the French Croix de Guerre with palm for Normandy

Merli left the service in 1945 as a private first class. He would marry Mary Santine Lemoncelli (b.1924-d.2006) in 1947. They would have three children, Geno, Phillip, and Maria. They lived in his home state of Pennsylvania, and Merli would work for the Veterans Affairs Administration for more than 30 years.

In 1984 Merli returned to the beaches of Normandy, with Tom Brokaw. He was one of the inspirations for Brokaw’s seminal book The Greatest Generation.

Merli died in 2002 at the age of 78. He was one of twelve 18th Infantry men to receive the Medal of Honor, and one of nine to have received it during World War II (only three were posthumous awards). At the time of his passing, all but one of the other surviving recipients had predeceased him.

Merli’s son Gino is an accomplished medical doctor who has spent more than 45 years at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Pennsylvania, and most recently served as Associate Chief Medical Officer there.

Merli’s three brothers all served as well. His older brother Nicholas (b.1921-d.1987) also enlisted in the Army in 1943. He spent only one month overseas in 1944 before being honorably discharged in 1946. I can’t find just why his overseas service was so short. Their younger brother Chester (b.1928-d.1994) was clearly inspired by his brothers. He enlisted into the Army two days after his 18th birthday in 1946 and served four years before being discharged as a sergeant. Lastly, youngest brother Joeseph (b.1932-d.2013) enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served as a drill instructor during the Korean War.

Category: Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, Valor, We Remember, WWII