17DEC1944: As his unit moved to reinforce the lines, Pfc William Soderman headed to the woods with an armful of munitions. Carrying a bazooka, several rockets, grenades and his rifle, Soderman hid in the dark as he waited for the coming German attack. Before long, a column of German tanks was coming up on his position. Soderman waited until the last minute, stepped out and fired a round at point blank range, destroying one of the tanks. Before he could reload, the remaining tanks powered past him to continue their advance. Staying in his position all night through enemy artillery and machine gun fire, Soderman once again faced down a tank advance. Running to get into position, Soderman stepped into the road fired once more and destroyed his second German tank, blocking the pass for the others. As Soderman moved back to resupply, he came across a platoon of German infantry. Firing his bazooka once more, he killed three and wounded many more, forcing their retreat. At this point, his unit began to withdraw but just then, another wave of armor pushed through the forest. Soderman grabbed his bazooka and went forward to meet the threat. He quickly fired another round destroying his third tank in 24 hours. As he turned, he was hit and severely wounded by enemy fire. After crawling back to friendly lines he was treated, evacuated and would survive the war. For his actions in single handedly destroying three German tanks, Pfc William Soderman was awarded the Medal of Honor.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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