Rudolf Roy Rudolf Roy Jr . was a Untersturmführer ( Second Lieutenant ) in the Waffen SS during World War II , awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross , which was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership by Nazi Germany during World War II . Early life . Rudolf Roy Jr . was born on 15 August 1920 in Spandau , Berlin and was named after his bricklayer father . He attended the local elementary school and at the age of 13 joined the Hitler Youth . In April 1934 , he joined the Landwehr ( Militia ) and was stationed in East Prussia until December 1934 . He was then trained as a machine locksmith and became skilled in his trade . In November 1938 , at the age of 18 , he volunteered to join the Allgemeine - SS . World War II . In 1940 , Roy was assigned to 1st Company , Training and Reserve Battalion , Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler for basic military training and then assigned to the 3rd Battery , 1st SS Panzerjäger ( Tank Hunter ) Battalion . He took part in Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union , in 1941 and was awarded the Iron Cross ( 2nd class ) . Roy was promoted to Unterscharführer ( Sergeant ) in January 1943 and transferred to the 1st Battery , then under the command of Karl Heinz Prinz . He was awarded the Iron Cross ( 1st class ) in September . In April 1944 , the entire Panzerjäger Battalion was transferred to the newly formed 12th SS Panzer Division " Hitlerjugend " . It was classed as unfit for combat when the Allies landed in Normandy on 6 June as it was still forming , so it did not reach the front until July at which time Roy was promoted to Oberscharführer ( Technical Sergeant ) . The 12th SS Panzerjäger Battalion was quickly sent into action and credited with being largely responsible for the defeat of the Allied Operation Totalise over the period 8 to 10 August . Roy and his gunner , Fritz Eckstein , were credited with destroying eight tanks on 8 August and the next day knocked out a further 13 tanks . Within five days , the duo had knocked out a total of 26 tanks , which brought his total up to 36 tanks destroyed . Roy ' s efforts resulted in an award of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . His citation for the Knight ' s Cross reads : " The dawn of 9 . 8 . 1944 , enemy tanks penetrated into the rear of Kampfgruppe Waldmüller through the gaps in the HKL near Soignolles , dominating all supply lines from Hill 111 . Oberscharführer Roy was ordered to attack and destroy the enemy tanks with his Panzerjäger 39 . Roy crept up on the tanks with courage and mobility , and within short time knocked out 8 English tanks . By doing so he created the prerequisite for the withdrawal ordered that evening . At 21 : 30 , because of the constantly increasing enemy fire , the Kampfgruppe began its disengagement as commanded . In the middle of the withdrawal enemy tanks launched a surprise attack on the Kampfgruppe in the village of Soignolles . In an independent decision Oberscharführer Roy attacked the tanks in the flank . Of the 15 attacking enemy tanks only 2 were able to escape . Oberscharführer Roy destroyed 13 tanks on this day , within 5 days 26 , and increased his total number of knocked out English and Russian tanks to 36 . " Roy did not survive the war but was killed during the Battle of the Bulge . On 17 December 1944 , while attacking the lines of the US 99th Infantry Divisions , he was killed by a sniper while looking out of his tank ' s hatch . Obersturmführer ( First Lieutenant ) Helmut Zeiner reported : " We followed a narrow , occasionally winding forest lane to a spot where it split and dropped off . There , all hell broke loose . The enemy had armor - piercing weapons , snipers in the trees , and a few Shermans in ambush position . Oberscharführer Roy , who had taken over 1 . platoon in my place , was driving behind me . He was killed by a shot to the head . " Roy was posthumously promoted to Untersturmführer and is buried in the War cemetery in Bonn - Bad Godesberg Germany , grave number 756 .