Evening star., 1945-07-19
Sergeant, Medal of Honor Hero,
Scared SpeechIess in Pentogon
1t Wasn't Anything
He Says of Exploits;
Refuses Discharge
BY NELSON M. SHEPARD.


He single-handedly attacked a lot
Of Germans near Bastogne, but in
the security of the Pentagon a
kindly general and a half dozen
friendly reporters nearly scared him
speechless.
That's SfSergt. James r. Hendrix
the Arrny's latest Medal of Honor
hero-a bashful, red-haired, freckle-
faced farm boy of 10, whose slight
frame packs 134 pounds of unsus-
pected dynamite. He's the infantry
Doughboy of the 4th Armored Divi-
sion who has put his home town of
Lepanto, Ark, on the map.
Given the choice. Sergt. Jim
probably would rather face those
German guns again, any day, than
the ordeal of camera flashlights at
the White House when President
Truman pins the Nations highest
valor award on his chest. The
Army is keeping him around here
until the President returns from
the Big Three conference, and
Sergt. Jim, who still is somewhat
dazed by all the fuss, is preparing
to sweat it out.
at Wasn't Anything"
"Ah, shucks," he said, 'it wasn't
anything"
The Army thinks differently. So
does the press gang at the Penta-
gon, who voted him their "favorite
hero"-and the shyest.
Brig. Gen. Redmond F. Herman
brought the led into his conference
room to tell reporters how it all
happened that day Of December 26,
when the SD Infantry Battalion
was assigned the task Of breaking
through the Belgian town of Asse-
nois and relieving the besieged gar
rison at Bastogne. Jim was just
private then.
Sergt. Jim hung his head and
clasped his hands in embarrassment.
He gulped his name and grinned.
The general took him kindly by the
hand and led him closer to the
front, until his chair was only a
foot away from the reporters. Now
son, you tell them," the general said.
Citation Tells Story.
Sergt. Jim's story can't be told In
his own words-only sketchy phrase
or two. But the official citation tells
an amazing story. His leading pla-
toon came Unexpectedly upon two
German 88-mm. guns, whose crews
of seven men each were pinned
down by our own artillery fire.
Sergt. Jim, who bears a charmed
life, grabbed rifle and went
through the shell fire.
What happened, Jim?'
"Oh, just shot one of the Ger
mans through the neck and cracked
another over the head with my
rifle" he finally managed to say.
Then made the rest of 'em come
out and give up"
Going back to his platoon, he saw
a couple of wounded men on the
roadside. He fetched a bucket of
water, but to his surprise 1t was
punctured full of bullet holes as he
carried it. Then he put the men
In half-track and bullets flattened
against its side.
Cleans Out Gun Nest.
Jim got mad then and looked
around for his rifle. Two machine
guns a 100 yards away we're trying
to kill him. He went after them and
cleaned out the six machine gun
ners with his rifle. A little later he
saw a burning half-track with an
American inside. The exploding
mines and shells meant nothing to
him. A buddy was in trouble and so
Sergt. Jim again saved a life. He
pulled the man out of the truck and
protected his body from gun fire
with his own until help came.
Three days later, Jim received two
bullet holes through the fleshy part
of two legs and was hit by shell
fragment.
He wore no Purple Heart to show
for his wounds-nothing but an in
fantryman's badge and unit CT
tation.
"Ah, they needed every man they
could get," he grinned. II didn't go
to the medics."
All Sergt. James has to his credit
is "a points, but he could get some
more if he wants them.
"Are you going over to fight the
Japs?"
"Yes, If my outfit goes" he re-
piled.
But a Medal of Honor entities