Bobbie E . Brown Robert " Bobbie " Evan Brown Jr . ( September 2 , 1907 – November 8 , 1971 ) was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Crucifix Hill , near Aachen , Germany , on October 8 , 1944 . He left home and joined the army in 1922 , lying about his age . At the start of World War II , he was the first sergeant of the Headquarters Company of the 2nd Armored Division . He received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and was transferred to the 1st Infantry Division in 1943 . Following the death of his company commander on D - Day he assumed command of his company , Company C . Brown left the army with the rank of captain in 1952 . Early life . Robert Brown was born in Dublin , Georgia , in 1907 and left home in 1922 to join the Army at age 15 . Military career . At the army recruiter ' s in Columbus , he told the Sergeant he was 18 . Because he filled out his first enlistment papers with his nickname " Bobbie , " that ' s how the army knew him for next 3 decades . He qualified as an expert with every weapon in army ' s arsenal and took up boxing and American football . He scored 38 victories in the ring and made all - army team for football in 1927 . Three universities offered him scholarships to play football for them before they learned he ' d only completed 7th grade . When World War II began he was the First Sergeant in the Headquarters Company of Patton ' s 2nd Armored Division . After fighting across North Africa , he received battlefield promotion to Second Lieutenant and transferred to the 1st Infantry Division . He led a platoon of Company C up Omaha Beach on D - Day . While fighting across France he assumed command of his unit when his Company Commander was killed . Crucifix Hill . A few days later the promotion became official . At 04 : 00 , October 8 , 1944 , he received orders for an attack on Crucifix Hill . Of 43 known pillbox es and bunker s , his company was responsible for numbers 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 26 , 29 , and 30 . After a formation of P - 47 Thunderbolt s finished an air strike at 13 : 15 , he led his company out of positions in a graveyard at the foot of the hill . They made it about to an antitank ditch in front of pillbox 18 before heavy German fire forced them to seek cover . He turned to his platoon Sergeant , " Get me a couple of flamethrower s , some pole and satchel charge s . " Once armed with those , he had his riflemen lay down a base of fire , then started crawling alone toward the pillbox . A bomb had earlier blown a hole near the pillbox , which he jumped into and dropped a satchel charge through an aperture by a door . The pillbox erupted , clouds of smoke billowing from its rifle ports . He wriggled his way back to his men to pick up more charges and went back uphill past the still smoking bunker and toward pillbox 19 while under heavy machine - gun fire . Several mortar rounds fell nearby , slamming his body to the ground . Once in range , he dropped a pole charge through a opening , blowing a hole in the pillbox , followed with a satchel charge . On his way back downhill for more charges , he noticed blood covering one knee . Then his Sergeant told him , " Sir , there ' s bullet holes in your canteen . " He had no idea when he ' d been hit . Pillbox 20 was perhaps the largest and most heavily armed fortification on the hill . A turret , mounting a cut - down 88 mm cannon , revolved 360 degrees on the top , while the concrete walls were thick . The structure was manned by 45 soldiers with no less than 6 machine - guns . Following a communications trench from number 19 to 20 , he threw 2 satchel charges through a steel door that an ammunition - laden soldier was entering through . With the destruction of pillbox 20 , enemy resistance on Crucifix Hill soon crumbled , allowing allied forces to mop up , and securing the 1st Division ' s flank . He was wounded during street fighting in Aachen when an artillery shell landed practically beside him . Numb , blood streaming from his nose , ears , and mouth , he headed for an aid station . He spent several months in a hospital in Belgium , then went home on a 30 - day leave . He rejoined Company C in Germany and fought with it into Czechoslovakia . After the war ended , he flew home to receive his Medal of Honor on August 23 , 1945 . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Captain , U S . Army , Company C , 18th Infantry , 1st Infantry Division . Place and date : Crucifix Hill , Aachen , Germany , October 8 , 1944 . Entered service at : Atlanta , Ga . Born : September 2 , 1903 , Dublin , Ga . G . O . No . : 74 , September 1 , 1945 . Citation : He commanded Company C , 18th Infantry Regiment , on October 8 , 1944 , when it , with the Ranger Platoon of the 1st Battalion , attacked Crucifix Hill , a key point in the enemy ' s defense of Aachen , Germany . As the leading rifle platoon assaulted the first of many pillboxes studding the rising ground , heavy fire from a flanking emplacement raked it . An intense artillery barrage fell on the American troops which had been pinned down in an exposed position . Seeing that the pillboxes must be neutralized to prevent the slaughter of his men , Capt . Brown obtained a pole charge and started forward alone toward the first pillbox , about 100 yards away . Hugging the ground while enemy bullets whipped around him , he crawled and then ran toward the aperture of the fortification , rammed his explosive inside and jumped back as the pillbox and its occupants were blown up . He rejoined the assault platoon , secured another pole charge , and led the way toward the next pillbox under continuous artillery mortar , automatic , and small - arms fire . He again ran forward and placed his charge in the enemy fortification , knocking it out . He then found that fire from a third pillbox was pinning down his company ; so he returned to his men , secured another charge , and began to creep and crawl toward the hostile emplacement . With heroic bravery he disregarded opposing fire and worked ahead in the face of bullets streaming from the pillbox . Finally reaching his objective , he stood up and inserted his explosive , silencing the enemy . He was wounded by a mortar shell but refused medical attention and , despite heavy hostile fire , moved swiftly among his troops exhorting and instructing them in subduing powerful opposition . Later , realizing the need for information of enemy activity beyond the hill , Capt . Brown went out alone to reconnoiter . He observed possible routes of enemy approach and several times deliberately drew enemy fire to locate gun emplacements . Twice more , on this self - imposed mission , he was wounded ; but he succeeded in securing information which led to the destruction of several enemy guns and enabled his company to throw back 2 powerful counterattacks with heavy losses . Only when Company C ' s position was completely secure did he permit treatment of his 3 wounds . By his indomitable courage , fearless leadership , and outstanding skill as a soldier , Capt . Brown contributed in great measure to the taking of Crucifix Hill , a vital link in the American line encircling Aachen . Later life . After the war ended , Brown spent the next two years in and out of hospitals , as army doctors tried to repair the physical damage inflicted by 13 war wounds . He completed his 30 years of service to his country in 1952 . In addition to the Medal of Honor he was awarded 2 Silver Stars and the Bronze Star . Like so many men who had experienced intense combat , Brown was tormented by traumatic memories of his experiences during the war . Unable to find a good civilian job , he became a janitor at the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York . Haunted by unhappy memories of combat and in constant pain from war - related injuries , he committed suicide , by a self - inflicted gunshot to his chest , on November 12 , 1971 . He was subsequently buried in section 46 , site 1021 - 17 of Arlington National Cemetery , not far from the Tomb of the Unknowns and the Memorial Amphitheater .