Herman Bottcher Captain Hermann J . F . Bottcher ( 13 July 1909 – December 31 , 1944 ) was a German immigrant who was awarded the rank of Captain in two different armies , the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and the United States Army during World War II . He was awarded two U . S . Distinguished Service Crosses , the second highest U . S . military decoration after the Medal of Honor , for conspicuous bravery and leadership on the field of battle during two separate actions at the Battle of Buna – Gona . Lieutenant - General Robert L . Eichelberger immediately promoted him from Staff Sergeant to Captain for his leadership and heroism during the battle from December 5 – 11 , 1942 . His daring attack turned the tide of the Buna advance by separating the enemy - held Buna Mission from the Buna village . This same action resulted in his first DSC award . Capt . Bottcher become a U . S . citizen in New Guinea in December 1943 . Early years . Herman Bottcher was born in Landsberg , Prussia , Germany . He was orphaned at an early age , his mother died while he was a toddler and his father was killed during World War One . He was raised by his father ' s brother George Bottcher . He trained as a cabinetmaker and carpenter and studied architecture in Germany before immigrating to Australia following his uncle . In 1931 , Herman Bottcher emigrated to the United States via Australia and lived in San Francisco . During the Great Depression , Bottcher was a student at San Francisco State College and studied Sociology and he applied for American citizenship in 1933 in a procedure of the time referred to as " first papers " . Spanish Civil War . At some point and possibly prior to his entry to the United States Herman became active in both the labor movement and progressive politics of the day . In 1937 , Bottcher interrupted his college studies to fight in the Spanish Civil War , which pitted the pro - Republican loyalists against a nationalist coalition led ( among others ) by General Francisco Franco . The nationalists received support from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany . Bottcher served in a variety of locations and capacities throughout his time in Spain and was elevated to the rank of comisario , or Captain in the summer of 1938 . During his 23 months in country , Hermann was wounded twice , once in the Battle of Madrid and once at Aragon . In March 1939 , when Spanish Prime Minister Juan Negrín ordered the withdrawal of the International Brigades Herman Bottcher , with three Spanish military decorations , including the Spanish Medal of Valour , returned to San Francisco , USA and continued his college education in Sociology . Because he was not yet a citizen and he had interrupted residence while fighting in Spain ; as with many non - citizen veterans of the Spanish civil war , Hermann was again forced to apply for his first papers again , which he did so in San Francisco 1939 . World War II . The following day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Herman Bottcher reported to his local draft board in San Francisco , where he lived at 239 Ramsell Street , to volunteer for service . He eventually enlisted in the US Army at the Presidio of Monterey on January 5 , 1942 , less than one month after the attack on Pearl Harbor . Because of his immigration status he joined the US Army as a citizen of Germany . After boot camp and training he was assigned the 32nd Infantry Division , nicknamed the " Red Arrow division " , which was a National Guard Unit composed of units from the Wisconsin and Michigan areas . The 32nd had been federally activated in 1940 and had been actively training and preparing for service for some time . However , while slated for duty in Europe and awaiting embarkation for Northern Ireland , in the Spring of 1942 The 32nd Division was diverted from Ft . Devins in Massachusetts to the West coast in California for staging and transport to the South West Pacific Theater . It was here on the West coast that Hermann joined the unit . While the division was in route on several of the Matson Steam Ship Company ocean liners , pressed into wartime service , Herman was promoted to Staff Sergeant . The 32nd arrived in Australia late in the spring of 1942 . The Battle of Buna . Bottcher ' s unit , the 126th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd , was sent to New Guinea in the fall of 1942 . Company " H " of the 126 infantry regiment was part of the elements of the 32nd Division tasked with the flanking maneuver and forced march over the Owen Stanley Mountains . This " grease pencil exercise " was a poorly conceived and supplied logistics nightmare which decimated the fighting strength of the troops making the crossing . Weakened by tropical disease and dysentery the troopers were forced join the attack against Japanese forces who had built extensive defenses around beachheads in the Buna area . On November 16 , 1942 , US forces joined the already battling Australian troops in the region and commenced to attack the Imperial Japanese Army stronghold at Buna , Sanananda and Gona . Herman Bottcher , Now a Staff Sergeant , was appointed as platoon commander of " H " Company of the 126th Infantry Regiment . On December 5 , 1942 , when " H " Company and sister units were pinned down by enemy fire , Hermann Bottcher took the initiative and led a 31 - strong detachment forward against the attacking force . Wading across a creek under constant mortar fire , Bottcher led twelve volunteers through to the Buna beach . He stood up and threw hand grenades at the enemy knocking out several pillboxes en route and was able to drive a wedge between Buna beach and Buna village . Bottcher , one eardrum broken by mortar blast , his hand cut by shrapnel , held that wedge . Bottcher ordered his men to dig in at once on the edge of the beach , which became known as " Bottchers Corner " . He and his men fought against enemy attacks from both the village and the fortified beach which resulted in the death of numerous enemy soldiers . Bottcher ' s break - through completed the isolation of Buna village and is considered to be a turning point of the battle . Australian war correspondent George Johnston reported in " Time " magazine on September 20 , 1943 : Bottcher was awarded the battlefield commission of Captain and his first Distinguished Service Cross Medal . On December 20 , Bottcher led a detachment of his men in an attack and that was within 20 yards of the enemy , when he stood up to draw the enemy fire upon himself so that his men could move forward . He was wounded twice and awarded a second Distinguished Service Cross Medal for his actions . He was sent to Australia , for treatment of his three wounds . Final battle . In June 1943 , Capt . Bottcher returned to the 32nd Division and was assigned to Company " A " of the 127th regiment and participated in the Saidar invasion and Aitape campaigns in New Guinea as part of the greater Operation Catwheel . In June 1944 Capt Bottcher was assigned as commanding officer to the new 32nd Cavalry reconnaissance Troop Mechanized . Capt . Bottcher ' s men had spent more than 40 days behind enemy lines during the Battle of Leyte when , on December 31 , 1944 , a group of Japanese soldiers encountered Bottcher ' s men and attacked them with small arms fire and mortar rounds , one of which fell directly into Bottcher ' s position . The next day , Bottcher ' s men sent the following radio message : " Bottcher dead . Recon troop withdrawing west . . . " Captain ( later Major ) Dick Tucker , sent the following message to the news wires : " Captain Herman Bottcher , veteran soldier in the fight against Fascism , hero of the battle of Buna and reconnaissance - troop commander , whose exploits had become legend among the men who were fighting the Pacific war , lay dead on a hill overlooking Silad Bay . " Bottcher is buried in the Manila American Cemetery , Manila in Plot L Row 4 Grave 134 . Legacy . There is a memorial plaque at Buna today which is dedicated to Bottcher ' s role in the battle . In 1945 , Sgt . John Rossen wrote an eloquent poem that pays tribute to Bottcher and the sacrifice he made in his fight against fascism . This poem went on to inspire the artist Pierre Daura to create a painting that commemorates Bottcher and captures the tone of the poem which was anti - fascist . In this work , found in the Taubman Museum of Art ' s permanent collection , located in Roanoke , Virginia , a Filipino kneels beside Bottcher ' s grave , marked with a cross and his helmet and covered with a palm leaf , and looks toward Heaven . He clearly contemplates Bottcher ' s sacrifice as his eyes are closed . Rossen and Bottcher served together in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War . Daura also fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco , but he was not a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade . In an article published in the " Saturday Evening Post " on August 13 , 1949 , Lieutenant - General Robert L . Eichelberger ( former commander in the Buna campaign ) wrote that " On my recommendation , the Allied commander commissioned Bottcher as a captain of infantry for bravery on the field of battle . He was one of the best Americans I have ever known . . . His combat experience was extremely useful at Buna , and his patriotism as a new American was vigorous and determined . " According to Eichelberger , Bottcher was " Buna ' s greatest hero . " Military decorations and awards . Among Captain Bottcher ' s military decorations are the following : Badges : Foreign decorations