Bernard P . Bell Bernard Pious Bell ( December 29 , 1911 – January 8 , 1971 ) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions in World War II . Biography . Born at Grantsville , West Virginia , Bell joined the Army from New York City in August 1942 . He earned the Medal of Honor while serving with Company I , 142nd Infantry Regiment , 36th Infantry Division at Mittelwihr , France on December 18 , 1944 . He left the Army on June 19 , 1945 with the rank of Warrant Officer . He died on January 8 , 1971 and was buried in Section 25 of Arlington National Cemetery two days later . Medal of Honor citation . Bell ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Rank and organization : Technical Sergeant , U . S . Army , Company I , 142d Infantry , 36th Infantry Division . Place and date : Mittelwihr , France , December 18 , 1944 . Entered service at : New York , N . Y . Birth : Grantsville , West Virginia . G . O . No . : 73 , August 30 , 1945 . Citation : For fighting gallantly at Mittelwihr , France . On the morning of December 18 , 1944 , he led a squad against a schoolhouse held by enemy troops . While his men covered him , he dashed toward the building , surprised two guards at the door and took them prisoner without firing a shot . He found that other Germans were in the cellar . These he threatened with hand grenades , forcing 26 in all to emerge and surrender . His squad then occupied the building and prepared to defend it against powerful enemy action . The next day , the enemy poured artillery and mortar barrages into the position , disrupting communications which T / Sgt . Bell repeatedly repaired under heavy small - arms fire as he crossed dangerous terrain to keep his company commander informed of the squad ' s situation . During the day , several prisoners were taken and other Germans killed when hostile forces were attracted to the schoolhouse by the sound of captured German weapons fired by the Americans . At dawn the next day the enemy prepared to assault the building . A German tank fired round after round into the structure , partially demolishing the upper stories . Despite this heavy fire , T / Sgt . Bell climbed to the second floor and directed artillery fire which forced the hostile tank to withdraw . He then adjusted mortar fire on large forces of enemy foot soldiers attempting to reach the American position and , when this force broke and attempted to retire , he directed deadly machine gun and rifle fire into their disorganized ranks . Calling for armored support to blast out the German troops hidden behind a wall , he unhesitatingly exposed himself to heavy small - arms fire to stand beside a friendly tank and tell its occupants where to rip holes in walls protecting approaches to the school building . He then trained machine guns on the gaps and mowed down all hostile troops attempting to cross the openings to get closer to the school building . By his intrepidity and bold , aggressive leadership , T / Sgt . Bell enabled his 8 - man squad to drive back approximately 150 of the enemy , killing at least 87 and capturing 42 . Personally , he killed more than 20 and captured 33 prisoners .