World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
John Robert Fox
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Hometown
Cincinnati, Ohio
Honored By
Charles Henry Atkinson
Relationship
Vietnam Veteran
AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR ON JANUARY 13, 1997 FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM AGAINST AN ARMED ENEMY IN THE VICINITY OF SOMMOCOLONIA, ITALY ON DECEMBER 26, 1944 WHILE SERVING AS A MEMBER OF CANNON COMPANY, 366TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 92ND INFANTRY DIVISION. DURING THE PRECEDING FEW WEEKS, HE SERVED WITH 598TH FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION AS FORWARD OBSERVER. ON CHRISTMAS NIGHT, ENEMY SOLDIERS GRADUALLY INFILTRATED SOMMOCOLONIA IN CIVILIAN CLOTHES AND BY EARLY MORNING THE TOWN WAS LARGELY IN HOSTILE HANDS. COMMENCING WITH A HEAVY BARRAGE OF ENEMY ARTILLERY AT 0400 HOURS ON DECEMBER 26, 1944 AN ORGANIZED ATTACK BY UNIFORMED GERMAN UNITS BEGAN. BEING GREATLY OUTNUMBERED, MOST OF U.S. INFANTRY FORCES WERE FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE TOWN, BUT HONOREE AND SOME OTHER MEMBERS OF HIS OBSERVER PARTY VOLUNTARILY REMAINED ON 2ND FLOOR OF A HOUSE TO DIRECT DEFENSIVE ARTILLERY FIRE. AT 0800 HOURS, HE REPORTED THAT GERMANS WERE IN THE STREETS AND ATTACKING IN STRENGTH. HE THEN CALLED FOR DEFENSIVE ARTILLERY FIRE TO SLOW THE ENEMY ADVANCE. AS THE GERMANS CONTINUED TO PRESS THE ATTACK TOWARDS THAT AREA, HE ADJUSTED THE ARTILLERY FIRE CLOSER TO HIS POSITION. FINALLY HE WAS WARNED THAT THE NEXT ADJUSTMENT WOULD BRING THE DEADLY ARTILLERY RIGHT ON TOP OF HIS POSITION. AFTER ACKNOWLEDGING THE DANGER, HE INSISTED THAT THE LAST ADJUSTMENT BE FIRED AS THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY TO DEFEAT THE ATTACKING SOLDIERS. LATER, WHEN A COUNTERATTACK RETOOK THE POSITION FROM THE GERMANS, HIS BODY WAS FOUND WITH THE BODIES OF APPROXIMATELY 100 GERMAN SOLDIERS. HIS GALLANT AND COURAGEOUS ACTIONS, AT THE SUPREME SACRIFICE OF HIS OWN LIFE, CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO DELAYING THE ENEMY ADVANCE UNTIL OTHER INFANTRY AND ARTILLERY UNITS COULD REORGANIZE TO REPEL THE ATTACK. HIS EXTRAORDINARY VALOROUS ACTIONS WERE IN KEEPING WITH THE MOST CHERISHED TRADITIONS OF MILITARY SERVICE AND REFLECT THE UTMOST CREDIT ON HIM, HIS UNIT AND THE U.S. ARMY.