THE TERRIBLE DEATH OF JOHN JOSEPH MCVEIGH OF PHOLADELPHIA, HONORING HIM FOR HIS HEROIC ACTIONS NEAR BREST, FRANCE.

The Terrible Death Of John Joseph McVeigh of Philadelphia, Honoring Him For His Heroic Actions Near Brest, France, WWII.

John Joseph McVeigh of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on August 29, 1944, near Brest, France.

McVeigh worked for a rustproofing company before joining the Army in September 1942. By August 29, 1944, he was serving as a sergeant in Company H, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.

Shortly after dusk on Aug. 29, 1944, McVeigh's platoon was near the town of Brest and had just begun to assume defensive positions along a hedge when the enemy counterattacked.

Since McVeigh's platoon wasn't dug in, part of their defensive line sagged briefly under heavy fire, leaving a section of heavy machine guns with a lot of space in front of them and no rifle protection.

The Germans moved quickly and were almost on top of one of the machine gun positions where McVeigh was.

Without pause, he stood up in full view of the enemy and directed his squad to fire on them, despite the heavy fire that was coming his way. His position was nearly overrun when he pulled out a trench knife — his last remaining weapon — and charged several of the Germans.

McVeigh killed one German with the knife and was headed toward three more when he was shot and killed at point-blank range.

But his heroic drive to stop the Germans gave two other soldiers time to kill the three men McVeigh was headed for, then concentrate their machine gun fire on the rest of the attackers.

Between the platoon's two machine guns, they finally stopped the flow of men charging at them. It also gave an accompanying rifle platoon time to reorganize and hold the high ground they had gained earlier in the day.

McVeigh was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on August 29, 1944. McVeigh is buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. He was just 22 years old.

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