The US Army Lieutenant That Called An Artillery Strike On Himself
World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient John Robert Fox was a rare breed of hero. He sacrificed his life in order to save his fellow soldiers in a manner that saw him going beyond the call of duty to the very last.
Lieutenant Fox served in the United States Army as a 1st Lieutenant in Company C, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division.
He was awarded the CMOH for his bravery in action on December 26, 1944 at Sommocolonia, Italy.
On Christmas night, enemy soldiers dressed in civilian clothes had begun to infiltrate the Italian town. By the early hours of the morning the place was largely in hostile hands.
At 04.00 hours an outside advance of uniformed German units began.
Knowing that they were heavily outnumbered and that the enemy advance represented a huge threat to his men, Lieutenant Fox and some other members of his observer party volunteered to stay behind. They remained on the second floor of a house to direct defensive artillery fire.
By 0800 hours, Lieutenant Fox reported that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength. He called for defensive artillery fire to slow them down.
As the Germans continued to press the attack towards his position, Lieutenant Fox adjusted his directions regardless. Finally, he was warned that the next call would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position.
After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox made the call and in turn sacrificed his life. 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 next to the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers.
In a turn of events that demonstrate the strict racial issues of the time, Lieutenant Fox was originally award the Distinguished Service Medal. It wasn’t until an enquiry in the 1990’s that determined African-American soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor due to their race.
After a review, seven African-American soldiers had their Medals upgraded in January, 1997 to the CMOH; Lieutenant Fox being one of the seven.
