Ernest W. Prussman

Ernest W. Prussman
BornSeptember 15, 1921
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedSeptember 8, 1944(1944-09-08) (aged 22)
near Loscoat, Brittany, France
Place of burial
Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-James, France
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Service years1942–1944
RankPrivate First Class
Service number31227157[1]
Unit13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
ConflictsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor

Ernest William Prussman (September 15, 1921 – September 8, 1944)[2] was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Biography

Prussman was born in 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland. He had a twin brother, Earl, and their father's name was Herbert.[3] In June 1938, the twins graduated from the Edison school within the Boston Public Schools system.[4]

Prussman joined the Army in October 1942; he was living on Parsons Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston at the time.[5][6] He was a clerk in a chain store prior to his enlistment.[5] Two of Prussman's brothers also served in the military during the war; Henry in the Army Air Forces and Calvin in the Navy.[7][5]

Prussman served as a private first class in the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. He first saw action in France in July 1944.[8] Two months later, on September 8, during combat near Loscoat (now an industrial district of Brest) in Brittany, Prussman advanced ahead of his unit and single-handedly captured several enemy soldiers and destroyed a machine gun nest before being killed. He was buried at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-James, Normandy, France.[9]

On April 19, 1945, Prussman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.[3] In a Patriots' Day ceremony in Boston, the award was presented to his mother by General Sherman Miles.[3]

In September 1945, The Boston Globe noted that Prussman was the sole Medal of Honor recipient from Boston during World War II.[5]

Medal of Honor citation

Private First Class Prussman's official Medal of Honor citation reads:[10]

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on September 8, 1944, near Les Coates,[a] Brittany, France. When the advance of the flank companies of 2 battalions was halted by intense enemy mortar, machinegun, and sniper fire from a fortified position on his left, Pfc. Prussman maneuvered his squad to assault the enemy fortifications. Hurdling a hedgerow, he came upon 2 enemy riflemen whom he disarmed. After leading his squad across an open field to the next hedgerow, he advanced to a machinegun position, destroyed the gun, captured its crew and 2 riflemen. Again advancing ahead of his squad in the assault, he was mortally wounded by an enemy rifleman, but as he fell to the ground he threw a handgrenade, killing his opponent. His superb leadership and heroic action at the cost of his life so demoralized the enemy that resistance at this point collapsed, permitting the 2 battalions to continue their advance.

Awards and decorations
Badge Combat Infantryman Badge
1st row Medal of Honor
2nd row Bronze Star Medal

Retroactively Awarded, 1947

Purple Heart Army Good Conduct Medal
3rd row American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal

with 2 Campaign stars

World War II Victory Medal

Memorials

In October 1964, a local American Legion post dedicated the intersection of Goodenough Street and Faneuil Street[b] in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston in honor of Prussman.[11] In June 1965, the City of Boston officially named it Ernest W. Prussman Square.[12]

In May 1994, a park at Fort Jackson in South Carolina—then home to the 13th Infantry Regiment—was dedicated in Prussman's memory; his brother Calvin attended the dedication ceremony.[13]

A statue of Prussman was dedicated on Memorial Day of 2018 near the intersection of Murdock Street and Cambridge Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.[14][c] The Neighborhood Task Force at Boston College provided a grant for the statue.[15] Jeff Buccacio (whose later work includes the statue of Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium) was the sculptor.[15][16]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Likely an incorrect transcription of Loscoat.
  2. ^ 42°21′20″N 71°09′16″W / 42.355685°N 71.154343°W / 42.355685; -71.154343
  3. ^ 42°21′01″N 71°08′51″W / 42.350176°N 71.147506°W / 42.350176; -71.147506

References

  1. ^ "WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946". fold3.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  2. ^ "Draft Registration Card". fold3.com. Selective Service System. February 1942. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "FD, World War Dead Honored, Hero Cited on Patriots' Day". The Boston Globe. April 20, 1945. p. 12. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Intermediate Schools (cont'd)". The Boston Globe. June 24, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Casey, Gene R. (September 7, 1945). "Pfc Ernest Prussman Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor Posthumously". The Boston Globe. p. 14. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)". archives.gov. National Archives and Records Administration.
  7. ^ "Pfc Ernest Prussman". The Boston Globe. October 1, 1944. p. 32. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Brave Soldier Not Forgotten". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. AP. April 20, 1945. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Index Record for Ernest W Prussman". fold3.com. American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  10. ^ "Medal of Honor recipients – World War II (M-S)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  11. ^ "Legion to Name Square After Brighton Hero". The Boston Globe. October 16, 1964. p. 19. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Naming of Intersections in Honor of Deceased Veterans". Report of Proceedings | City Council of Boston (1965). June 14, 1965. p. 123. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "Fort Jackson memorial". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. May 21, 1994. p. B4. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Brighton Medal of Honor recipient statue unveiled" (PDF). The Hyde Park Bulletin. Vol. 17, no. 22. May 31, 2018. p. 14. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via Weebly.
  15. ^ a b adamg (May 28, 2018). "Honoring a Medal of Honor recipient in Brighton". universalhub.com.
  16. ^ "Honoring Private Ernest W. Prussman". buccaciosculptureservices.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.