Arthur O . Beyer Arthur Otto Beyer ( May 20 , 1909 – February 16 , 1965 ) 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 . Arthur Beyer was born to Richard and Anna Beyer ( both immigrants from Luxembourg ) in St . Ansgar , Iowa . Sources differ regarding his birth year : 1909 or 1910 . His father died prematurely , and Beyer went to work to help support his mother and three siblings after he completed eighth grade . He was an auto - mechanic at the time he joined the Army in February 1941 . Beyer joined the military from St . Ansgar , and by January 15 , 1945 was serving as a Corporal in Company C , 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion . On that day , near Arloncourt in Belgium , he used hand grenades and his carbine to single - handedly destroy two German machine gun positions before working his way through a honey - combed series of enemy foxholes — killing and capturing German soldiers as he went . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry Truman seven months later , on August 30 , 1945 . Beyer also witnessed the horrors at Buchenwald when American troops liberated the prisoners held in the German concentration camp . Beyer rose to the rank of Sergeant before leaving the Army . He moved to rural Buffalo , North Dakota , and worked as a farm hand after returning from the war . He married Marian Hicks in 1962 , and they traveled to the White House with other Medal of Honor recipients for a special reception hosted by President John F . Kennedy in May 1963 . Beyer died on his farm in Saint Ansgar , Iowa at age 55 on February 17 , 1965 . His funeral was held in Valley City , North Dakota , and he was buried in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in his hometown of St . Ansgar , Iowa . Medal of Honor citation . Beyer ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : He displayed conspicuous gallantry in action . His platoon , in which he was a tank - destroyer gunner , was held up by antitank , machinegun , and rifle fire from enemy troops dug in along a ridge about 200 yards to the front . Noting a machinegun position in this defense line , he fired upon it with his 76 - mm . gun killing 1 man and silencing the weapon . He dismounted from his vehicle and , under direct enemy observation , crossed open ground to capture the 2 remaining members of the crew . Another machinegun , about 250 yards to the left , continued to fire on him . Through withering fire , he advanced on the position . Throwing a grenade into the emplacement , he killed 1 crewmember and again captured the 2 survivors . He was subjected to concentrated small - arms fire but , with great bravery , he worked his way a quarter mile along the ridge , attacking hostile soldiers in their foxholes with his carbine and grenades . When he had completed his self - imposed mission against powerful German forces , he had destroyed 2 machinegun positions , killed 8 of the enemy and captured 18 prisoners , including 2 bazooka teams . Cpl . Beyer ' s intrepid action and unflinching determination to close with and destroy the enemy eliminated the German defense line and enabled his task force to gain its objective .