John R. Crews

John R. Crews (March 8, 1923 – September 25, 1999) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions at the Battle of Buchhof and Stein am Kocher[1] in World War II.

John R. Crews
Born(1923-03-08)March 8, 1923
Golden, Oklahoma
DiedSeptember 25, 1999(1999-09-25) (aged 76)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Place of burial
Resthaven Gardens Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
RankStaff Sergeant
Unit2nd Battalion, 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor
Silver Star

Biography

Crews joined the Army from Bowlegs, Oklahoma in 1942,[2] and by April 8, 1945 was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company F, 253rd Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. On that day, near Stein-am-Kocher, Germany, Crews single-handedly destroyed two German emplacements.

Crews died at age 76 and was buried in Resthaven Gardens Cemetery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He is the great-uncle to author Kambri Crews.

Medal of Honor citation

Staff Sergeant Crews' official Medal of Honor citation reads:

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 8 April 1945 near Lobenbacherhof, Germany. As his company was advancing toward the village under heavy fire, an enemy machinegun and automatic rifle with rifle support opened upon it from a hill on the right flank. Seeing that his platoon leader had been wounded by their fire, S/Sgt. Crews, acting on his own initiative, rushed the strongpoint with 2 men of his platoon. Despite the fact that 1 of these men was killed and the other was badly wounded, he continued his advance up the hill in the face of terrific enemy fire. Storming the well-dug-in position single-handedly, he killed 2 of the crew of the machinegun at pointblank range with his M 1 rifle and wrested the gun from the hands of the German whom he had already wounded. He then with his rifle charged the strongly emplaced automatic rifle. Although badly wounded in the thigh by crossfire from the remaining enemy, he kept on and silenced the entire position with his accurate and deadly rifle fire. His actions so unnerved the remaining enemy soldiers that 7 of them surrendered and the others fled. His heroism caused the enemy to concentrate on him and permitted the company to move forward into the village.

See also

References
  1. The Battle of Buchhof and Stein am Kocher: The story of Second Battalion 253rd Infantry Regiment. 2014 Timothy A. Malone
  2. NY Times orbituary
  • "John R. Crews American Hero". Crews family member. January 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
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