SGT John McVeigh (G/23rd IN, 2nd ID) Battle of Brest, WWII 29AUG1944

29AUG1944: Serving as a squad leader during the assault on Brest, France, SGT John McVeigh and his men were hit by a German counter-attack. Having just started to dig in, his unit was starting to fall back as they came under intense fire from enemy small arms and flak guns. The attack was so quick that the Germans were quickly right on top of the US positions and the American Soldiers, pinned down, were at risk of being wiped out.

The attackers were about to overrun two machine gun positions, the only things keeping the US in the fight. SGT McVeigh, without regard for his own life, stood up and began directing his men's fire into the advancing enemy fighters, stalling the attack and keeping the machine guns operational, at least for the moment. Seeing more German attackers almost on top of his men, McVeigh drew his trench knife and charged. He quickly killed one enemy soldier and turned his attention to three more when he was shot and killed.

SGT McVeigh's actions allowed the two machine guns to stay firing and were the only reason the German attackers were not able to overrun the position that day. For his bravery and sacrifice, SGT John McVeigh would be awarded, posthumously, the Medal of Honor.