Floyd K. Lindstrom

Floyd K. Lindstrom (June 21, 1912 – February 3, 1944) 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.

Floyd K. Lindstrom
Floyd K. Lindstrom, November 11, 1943, U.S. Army
Born(1912-06-21)June 21, 1912
Holdrege, Nebraska
DiedFebruary 3, 1944(1944-02-03) (aged 31)
Anzio, Italy
Place of burial
Evergreen Cemetery,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1942 - 1944
RankPrivate First Class
Unit7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Italian Military Crosses

Early life

Born in Holdrege, Nebraska on June 21, 1912,[1] his parents were Anna (née Stongberg) and Otto Rudolph Lindstrom.[2][3][lower-alpha 1]

When Lindstrom was a toddler, his mother brought him and his older sister Pauline to Colorado. It is reported that Lindstrom never saw his father.[2] Moving to Colorado Springs about 1914, Anna worked and lived in a cottage with her children at the Myron Stratton Home.[2][6] Lindstrom was a Boy Scout who also earned his Eagle Scout from Boy Scout Troop 1 and graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in 1931.[6][7]

After graduation, he moved to downtown Colorado Springs and worked as a soda jerk before working as a truck driver[6][7] for Soomers Market, with his route between Colorado and California.[2] He drove for eleven years,[6] working for Associated Grocers when they took over the transportation business.[2] His fiancé, who died in February 1942 of a heart attack,[2] was Mary Jane Wackenhut.[lower-alpha 2]

World War II

Lindstrom joined the Army on June 22, 1942.[9] He was at Camp Roberts, California from July 17, 1942 to October 15, 1942.[10][3] Lindstrom was then sent to the 3rd Infantry Division and was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment.[11][3] He served first in North Africa.[12]

While in convoy on July 12, 1943 in Sicily, his unit came under attack by four enemy planes. The convoy stopped and everyone dispersed. He saw one truck starting to roll. Seeing it was moving towards an unaware soldier lying in the road and "disregarding the strafing by the planes, [he] jumped on the truck’s running board and guided it away from the soldier and also prevented it going over a steep embankment."[7] This action saved men and equipment. Lindstrom was awarded the Silver Star on August 19, 1943.[7][13]

German prepared defensive lines south of Rome. Mount la Difensa was on Bernhardt Line

By November 11, 1943,[lower-alpha 3] Lindstrom was serving as a private first class in the 3rd Infantry Division, attempting to climb the treacherous slopes of Mount la Difensa near while under heavy gunfire from German soldiers.[7][15] On that day, near Mignano, Italy, he single-handedly charged and captured a German machine gun, killed a soldier and sent the others in the nest scurrying for safety. He then began shooting German soldiers with the machine gun and risked his life to get more ammunition. He was nominated for the Medal of Honor.[6][7] On January 22, 1944 he landed at an Anzio beachhead with his unit, although he had been offered duty away from the fighting, and on February 3, he was killed in a German counterattack.[3] On April 20, 1944, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.[14] See also Battle for Monte la Difensa.

Initially, he was first listed as missing in action[3] and on June 6, 1944 his status was changed to killed in action. First buried at Nettuno, Italy then four years later,[12][3] in July 1948[16] he was returned to his family in Colorado Springs, where he is buried next to his mother in Evergreen Cemetery.[6][16] His sister donated his medals and paperwork to the Pioneers Museum in downtown Colorado Springs.[6][7] He was awarded the Purple Heart and two Italian Military Crosses.[17]

Decorations and awards
Silver Star Medal of Honor Purple Heart
August 19, 1943 April 20, 1944

Medal of Honor citation

Private First Class Lindstrom's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 11 November 1943, this soldier's platoon was furnishing machinegun support for a rifle company attacking a hill near Mignano, Italy, when the enemy counterattacked, forcing the riflemen and half the machinegun platoon to retire to a defensive position. Pfc. Lindstrom saw that his small section was alone and outnumbered 5 to 1, yet he immediately deployed the few remaining men into position and opened fire with his single gun. The enemy centered fire on him with machinegun, machine pistols, and grenades. Unable to knock out the enemy nest from his original position, Pfc. Lindstrom picked up his own heavy machinegun and staggered 15 yards up the barren, rocky hillside to a new position, completely ignoring enemy small arms fire which was striking all around him. From this new site, only 10 yards from the enemy machinegun, he engaged it in an intense duel. Realizing that he could not hit the hostile gunners because they were behind a large rock, he charged uphill under a steady stream of fire, killed both gunners with his pistol and dragged their gun down to his own men, directing them to employ it against the enemy. Disregarding heavy rifle fire, he returned to the enemy machinegun nest for 2 boxes of ammunition, came back and resumed withering fire from his own gun. His spectacular performance completely broke up the German counterattack. Pfc. Lindstrom demonstrated aggressive spirit and complete fearlessness in the face of almost certain death.[14]

Legacy
  • By a public law dated December 16, 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Colorado Springs was named the PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic by the 113th United States Congress.[6][18]
  • He was made a Colorado Freedom Memorial Honoree by 2001. The memorial is a Springhill Community Park, Aurora, Colorado.[3]
  • Lindstrom Street on Fort Carson in Colorado Springs is named for him.[7]
  • The American Legion Post 5 flagpole in Colorado Springs is dedicated to Lindstrom.[7]
  • There are plaques to honor him at The Shrine of Remembrance in the Veterans Honor Court in Colorado Springs[19][20] and the city park in Cripple Creek, Colorado.[21]
  • On June 20, 2019 Colorado Springs American Legion Post 5 voted to rename the post to American Legion PFC FLOYD K LINDSTROM POST 5.[22]

See also

Notes
  1. His mother's dates of birth and death are April 27, 1885 and March 14, 1970. She was a beautician after working at the Myron Stratton Home.[4] His father was born April 8, 1881 and died November 19, 1954. In 1910, Anna and 29 year-old Otto lived on their farm in Westmark, Nebraska with their daughter Pauline and Anna’s brother Emil Stongberg. Both men were farmers.[5]
  2. Mary Jane Wackenhut was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery on February 3, 1942.[8]
  3. The Medal of Honor and other documentation states that the date was November 11;[14] but the Military History documentation of the event states it was November 5, 1943.[15]

d c note is mistaken the reports that it was the 5 Nov. in section 99 it clearly states it was the 11 Nov. Or ii Nov in the section.[23]

References
  1. Erin Prater (February 10, 2013). "City Founded on Heroism, Valor" (PDF). The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. p. 48. Retrieved May 29, 2017 – via Pikes Peak Library District.
  2. "Congressional Medal awarded to hero's mother" (PDF). The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. April 14, 1944. p. 48. Retrieved May 29, 2017 – via Pikes Peak Library District.
  3. "Floyd K. Lindstrom". Colorado Freedom Memorial. June 11, 2001. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  4. "Mrs. Anna Lindstrom Services Wednesday". The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. March 16, 1970. p. 26. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "Otto R Lindstrom", 1910 Census, Westmark, Phelps, Nebraska; Roll: T624_853; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0174, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  6. Tom Roeder (December 5, 2014). "VA facility named for Army hero" (PDF). The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. p. B4. Retrieved May 29, 2017 – via Pikes Peak Library District.
  7. Tom Roeder (November 12, 2011). "Tribute to Fallen Hero" (PDF). The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. p. A1. Retrieved May 29, 2017 – via Pikes Peak Library District.
  8. "Surnames WAA-WAL - Wackenhut, Mary Jane". City of Colorado Springs Cemetery Data. October 23, 2016 – via www.interment.net.
  9. "Lindstrom, Floyd K". WWII Army Enlistment Records. June 22, 1942. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  10. "Trio From Same Platoon Win Medals". The Daily Notes. Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. May 8, 1945. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  11. "Floyd K. Lindstrom". The National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  12. Congressman Doug Lamborn (October 29, 2013). "Lamborn & Udall Introduce Bills to Name New CO Springs VA Clinic". Congressman Doug Lamborn. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  13. "Floyd K. Lindstrom". Hall of Valor. Military Times. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  14.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History."Medal of Honor recipients - World War II (G–L)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  15. "Across the Volturno and Against the Winter Line". U.S. Army Center of Military History. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  16. "Surnames LI-LL - Lincstrom, Floyd K. and Lindstrom, Anna Cary". City of Colorado Springs Cemetery Data. October 23, 2016 – via www.interment.net.
  17. "PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic". Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 94, Congressional Record Online. Government Publishing Office. June 17, 2014. pp. H5381H–5383. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  18. "Public Law 113–215, 113th Congress" (PDF). www.gpo.gov. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
  19. "Veterans Honor Court". Shrine of Remembrance. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  20. Keith B. LaMee Jr. (December 21, 2014). "A forgotten hero pulled from the dustbin of history". The American Legion. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  21. Tim Anderson. "Salute To American Veterans Rally, A Recognition and Celebration". Southwest Scooter News. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via www.theveteransrally.org.
  22. Post 5 meeting minutes
  23. https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/volturno/volturno-across.htm
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