24MAY1944: His unit tasked with leading the breakout from the Anzio beach head, SGT Sylvester Antolak and his men were engaged in fierce combat with German troops. On the second day of the attack, Antolak and his men were pinned down by two German machine gun positions that risked wiping out his entire unit. Without regard for his own safety, SGT Antolak jumped up and charged into the deadly fire aiming to knock out the first of the two positions. On three occasions, Antolak was hit and fell to the ground and each time he got back up and continued the assault. The third wound would shatter his right arm in such a way that he had to transfer his sub-machine gun to his left. Approaching the German position, he opened fire at close range, killing two and capturing ten prisoners. Consolidating his men, Antolak refused medical attention and set his sights on the second machine gun. Again charging forward through intense enemy fire, SGT Sylvester Antolak was struck a fourth time and killed. For bravely leading the assaults that would facilitate the Anzio Breakout, SGT Sylvester Antolak would be posthumously 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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