Jonah Edward Kelley Jonah Edward " Eddie " Kelley ( April 13 , 1923 – January 31 , 1945 ) was a United States Army soldier who received the United States military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions in World War II . Biography . Kelley was born in Rada , West Virginia , on April 13 , 1923 , and grew up in nearby Keyser . He was the middle child and only son of Jonah and Rebecca Kelley ; his two sisters were Beulah and Georgianna . A sports enthusiast , Kelley played football and basketball while attending Keyser High School and also participated in Boy Scouts and activities through his church , Grace United Methodist . After graduating from high school , he entered Potomac State College where he played on the football team until being drafted into the U . S . Army in 1943 . Sent to Germany , Kelley served as a staff sergeant with the 311th Infantry Regiment of the 78th Infantry Division . The division had been fighting for weeks to take the village of Kesternich , south east of Aachen , because occupation of the village would also give control of the nearby Roer River dams . During intense house - to - house fighting on January 30 , 1945 , Kelley led a squad in repeated assaults on German - held buildings . Although he received two wounds , one of which disabled his left hand , he did not withdraw to seek medical attention but continued to lead his men . The next morning , he single - handedly sought out and killed a German gunner who was preventing his squad ' s advance before being killed while assaulting a second German position . For these actions , he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor eight months later , on September 10 , 1945 . Aged 21 at his death , Kelley was initially buried in Margraten , Netherlands . After the war his remains were returned to the U . S . and interred at Queens Point Cemetery in his hometown of Keyser . Honors . Several structures have been named in Kelley ' s honor . Located in the suburb of Moehringen in the southeast corner of Stuttgart , Germany , is a former German military facility that was renamed Kelley Barracks and is today the garrison for Africa Command . The U . S . Army named a transport ship USAT " Sgt . Jonah E . Kelley " in 1947 . When the ship was transferred to the United States Navy in 1950 , it became the . In 2006 , legislation introduced to the West Virginia House of Delegates by Representatives Robert Schadler , Allen V . Evans , and Ruth Rowan , all of Mineral County , named a bridge on West Virginia Route 46 in Keyser in honor of Kelley . Construction on the " Staff Sergeant Jonah Edward Kelley Bridge " over New Creek began in November 2006 . An Army Reserve facility at Fort Dix is named the SSG Jonah Kelley Center . The J . Edward Kelley Society administers two awards available to people associated with Kelley ' s alma mater , Keyser High School . The Ed Kelley Award , established the year after Kelley ' s death and awarded annually ever since , is a scholarship available to students who played varsity basketball or football at the school for at least two years . The Legion of Honor , established in 1984 , recognizes graduates who distinguished themselves in their careers and others who have supported the school in some way . Medal of Honor citation . Kelley ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : In charge of the leading squad of Company E , he heroically spearheaded the attack in furious house - to - house fighting . Early on 30 January , he led his men through intense mortar and small arms fire in repeated assaults on barricaded houses . Although twice wounded , once when struck in the back , the second time when a mortar shell fragment passed through his left hand and rendered it practically useless , he refused to withdraw and continued to lead his squad after hasty dressings had been applied . His serious wounds forced him to fire his rifle with 1 hand , resting it on rubble or over his left forearm . To blast his way forward with hand grenade s , he set aside his rifle to pull the pins with his teeth while grasping the missiles with his good hand . Despite these handicaps , he created tremendous havoc in the enemy ranks . He rushed l house , killing 3 of the enemy and clearing the way for his squad to advance . On approaching the next house , he was fired upon from an upstairs window . He killed the sniper with a single shot and similarly accounted for another enemy soldier who ran from the cellar of the house . As darkness came , he assigned his men to defensive positions , never leaving them to seek medical attention . At dawn the next day , the squad resumed the attack , advancing to a point where heavy automatic and small arms fire stalled them . Despite his wounds , S / Sgt . Kelley moved out alone , located an enemy gunner dug in under a haystack and killed him with rifle fire . He returned to his men and found that a German machinegun , from a well - protected position in a neighboring house , still held up the advance . Ordering the squad to remain in comparatively safe positions , he valiantly dashed into the open and attacked the position single - handedly through a hail of bullets . He was hit several times and fell to his knees when within 25 yards of his objective ; but he summoned his waning strength and emptied his rifle into the machinegun nest , silencing the weapon before he died . The superb courage , aggressiveness , and utter disregard for his own safety displayed by S / Sgt . Kelley inspired the men he led and enabled them to penetrate the last line of defense held by the enemy in the village of Kesternich .