Van Barfoot passes
SGT K writes to let us know that Medal of Honor recipient Van Barfoot has passed at the tender age of 92. Most recently, Mr. Barfoot was denied the honor of flying an American flag in his yard by his homeowners’ association which sparked a bill allowing all Virginians to fly flags in their yards.
23 May 1944, near Carano, Italy. With his platoon heavily engaged during an assault against forces well entrenched on commanding ground, 2d Lt. Barfoot (then Tech. Sgt.) moved off alone upon the enemy left flank. He crawled to the proximity of 1 machinegun nest and made a direct hit on it with a hand grenade, killing 2 and wounding 3 Germans. He continued along the German defense line to another machinegun emplacement, and with his tommygun killed 2 and captured 3 soldiers. Members of another enemy machinegun crew then abandoned their position and gave themselves up to Sgt. Barfoot. Leaving the prisoners for his support squad to pick up, he proceeded to mop up positions in the immediate area, capturing more prisoners and bringing his total count to 17. Later that day, after he had reorganized his men and consolidated the newly captured ground, the enemy launched a fierce armored counterattack directly at his platoon positions. Securing a bazooka, Sgt. Barfoot took up an exposed position directly in front of 3 advancing Mark VI tanks. From a distance of 75 yards his first shot destroyed the track of the leading tank, effectively disabling it, while the other 2 changed direction toward the flank. As the crew of the disabled tank dismounted, Sgt. Barfoot killed 3 of them with his tommygun. He continued onward into enemy terrain and destroyed a recently abandoned German fieldpiece with a demolition charge placed in the breech. While returning to his platoon position, Sgt. Barfoot, though greatly fatigued by his Herculean efforts, assisted 2 of his seriously wounded men 1,700 yards to a position of safety. Sgt. Barfoot’s extraordinary heroism, demonstration of magnificent valor, and aggressive determination in the face of pointblank fire are a perpetual inspiration to his fellow soldiers.
Category: Blue Skies
RIP Sir; you’ve earned it, and then some.
RIP, trooper! Hell of a young man. Wow!
RIP LT.
A true hero!
I look forward to meeting you After.
I had the great Honor to have met him. And he lived in the same area as I do, before moving in with his daughter in Richmond, VA. He was a very humble man. He also was my great guest of Honor when we dedicated a Bridge to my son in 2008.
Sounds like the kind of guy one would hope they could measure up to being a fraction of the man he was. RIP.
Again, it always makes me wonder how someone would be able to summon the motivation and courage to take the action that men like these take during combat.
The people around you, LC. That’s what most of them will tell you.
A TRUE American hero! I can’t begin to image. America has lost a little bit of her luster with his passing.
RIP sir.
Rest in peace, my brother in arms from years past. You’ve earned it many times over.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Col. Barfoot’s family. He will be missed. We live free in the greatest country in the world because of men like him. I had the honor and privledge of meeting and visiting with Col. Barfoot in September 2010. A most gracious host and a very humble man.
God Bless you Sir, may you rest in peace.
RIP Van Barfoot. Another guy with an amazing story gone.
I think that brings us down to less then 95 living MOH recipients.
God Speed. He was such a nice and humble man and my wife and I had the honor and Privilege to meet him. It truly was an honor.
And it’s people like Col. Van Barfoot who have inspired so many of us to don the uniform. Not for the accolades, but because someone needs to do it.
He was a hero, but by all accounts I’ve read or seen, he was simply doing his best to take care of his Soldiers. Is their a better reason for heroism?