John J . Tominac John Joseph Tominac ( April 29 , 1922 – July 11 , 1998 ) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II . Military career . Tominac joined the Army from Conemaugh , Pennsylvania in November 1941 , and by September 12 , 1944 was serving as a first lieutenant in Company I , 15th Infantry Regiment , 3rd Infantry Division . On that day , in Saulx de Vesoul , France , he repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire in order to attack the German forces , even after being wounded . For his actions during the battle , he was awarded the Medal of Honor six months later , on March 29 , 1945 . Tominac remained in the Army after World War II , reaching the rank of colonel and serving in both the Korean and Vietnam War s . He died at age 76 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Arlington County , Virginia . Legacy . First Lieutenant Tominac ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on September 12 , 1944 , in an attack on Saulx de Vesoul , France 1st Lt . Tominac charged alone over 50 yards of exposed terrain onto an enemy roadblock to dispatch a 3 - man crew of German machine gunners with a single burst from his Thompson machinegun . After smashing the enemy outpost , he led 1 of his squads in the annihilation of a second hostile group defended by mortar , machinegun , automatic pistol , rifle and grenade fire , killing about 30 of the enemy . Reaching the suburbs of the town , he advanced 50 yards ahead of his men to reconnoiter a third enemy position which commanded the road with a 77 - mm . SP gun supported by infantry elements . The SP gun opened fire on his supporting tank , setting it afire with a direct hit . A fragment from the same shell painfully wounded 1st Lt . Tominac in the shoulder , knocking him to the ground . As the crew abandoned the M - 4 tank , which was rolling down hill toward the enemy , 1st Lt . Tominac picked himself up and jumped onto the hull of the burning vehicle . Despite withering enemy machinegun , mortar , pistol , and sniper fire , which was ricocheting off the hull and turret of the M - 4 , 1st Lt . Tominac climbed to the turret and gripped the 50 - caliber antiaircraft machinegun . Plainly silhouetted against the sky , painfully wounded , and with the tank burning beneath his feet , he directed bursts of machinegun fire on the roadblock , the SP gun , and the supporting German infantrymen , and forced the enemy to withdraw from his prepared position . Jumping off the tank before it exploded , 1st Lt . Tominac refused evacuation despite his painful wound . Calling upon a sergeant to extract the shell fragments from his shoulder with a pocketknife , he continued to direct the assault , led his squad in a hand grenade attack against a fortified position occupied by 32 of the enemy armed with machineguns , machine pistols , and rifles , and compelled them to surrender . His outstanding heroism and exemplary leadership resulted in the destruction of 4 successive enemy defensive positions , surrender of a vital sector of the city Saulx de Vesoul , and the death or capture of at least 60 of the enemy . The Maple Street Bridge in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , in his home county of Cambria County , was named the Colonel John Joseph Tominac Memorial Bridge in his honor .