Daniel Amos Message Board | Print: Ken Burns and The War

Posted by sondance on 10-05-2007 at22:49:

another generation

I've read my share about WWII and I've seen a few good movies and documentaries. I thought Burns covered the scope of this global conflict well.
I'll never forget the senator from Hawaii, a Japanese American veteran telling how as a young Lt., leading his platoon, he was hit by shrapnel after taking out two machine gun nests. The shrapnel all but removed his right arm so he "used his good hand to take the grenade out of his dead hand to toss it at a third machine gun." He was awarded the Medal of Honor fifty years later. Just breaks my heart to think what our troops went through. Sorry to see them leaving us one by one, and so anonymously. Hug a vet.

Seems like the Depression set up the civilian population to be able to do without and band together in a unique way. Cannot imagine my boomer generation or our offspring handling that kind of sacrifice. May God have mercy on our troops and their families today. Too much sorrow.

"The stranger, running the rim of his hat over his fingers, was lost in memories of stories he could tell no one. Might as well try to explain color to a blind person. He realized he had sold all his school-bus yellow pencils. Struggling to rise on his one good leg, the pain always brought him back to the present. He put on his hat, leaned into his cane and made his way home."

Posted by Drtuddle on 10-06-2007 at05:22:

I heard about this fella on a different PBS special. They don't make them like this fella anymore. Little bitty guy killed appx 100 Germans in one engagement. Apparently he never told his own children that he was a MOH recipient until his elderly years when PBS did a special on WWII that included him . He just went back to his quite life after the War.

[Jose M. Lopez
Master Sargeant, U.S. Army

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

Citation: On his own initiative, he carried his heavy machine gun from Company K's right flank to its left, in order to protect that flank which was in danger of being overrun by advancing enemy infantry supported by tanks. Occupying a shallow hole offering no protection above his waist, he cut down a group of 10 Germans.

Ignoring enemy fire from an advancing tank, he held his position and cut down 25 more enemy infantry attempting to turn his flank. Glancing to his right, he saw a large number of infantry swarming in from the front. Although dazed and shaken from enemy artillery fire that had crashed into the ground only a few yards away, he realized that his position soon would be outflanked.

Again, alone, he carried his machine gun to a position to the right rear of the sector; enemy tanks and infantry were forcing a withdrawal. Blown over backward by the concussion of enemy fire, he immediately reset his gun and continued his fire. Single-handed he held off the German horde until he was satisfied his company had effected its retirement.

Again he loaded his gun on his back and in a hail of small-arms fire he ran to a point where a few of his comrades were attempting to set up another defense against the onrushing enemy. He fired from this position until his ammunition was exhausted. Still carrying his gun, he fell back with his small group to Krinkelt.

Sgt. Lopez's gallantry and intrepidity, on seemingly suicidal missions in which he killed at least 100 of the enemy, were almost solely responsible for allowing Company K to avoid being enveloped, to withdraw successfully and to give other forces coming up in support time to build a line which repelled the enemy drive.

Editor's Note: Retired Master Sgt. Jose M. Lopez passed away on May 15, 2005 at the age of 94 at a daughter's home in San Antonio, Tex. Born in Mexico and orphaned at the age of eight, Lopez enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II and landed at Normandy on June 7, 1944, the day after the D-Day invasion. At dawn on Dec. 17, 1944, he and his men were outside Krinkelt, Belgium, shortly after the start of the Battle of the Bulge. It was during a hasty retreat from advancing German armored units that Lopez carried out the actions under fire that led to his receiving the Medal of Honor.

After World War II, Lopez remained in the Army and fought in Korea until a superior officer learned that the Medal of Honor recipient was in combat. He was then ordered to the rear and spent months in a graves registration unit. Lopez retired as a master sergeant in 1973.

His wife of 62 years, Emilia Herrera Lopez, died in February 2004. Survivors include five children, Candida Pieratti of Mahopac, N.Y., Virginia Rogers of Ogden, Utah, Beatrice Pedraza of Lima, Peru, and John Lopez and Maggie Wickwire, both of San Antonio; 19 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

© 2005 DefenseWatch. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.