Vito R . Bertoldo Vito R . Bertoldo ( December 1 , 1916 – July 23 , 1966 ) 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 . Bertoldo joined the Army from his birthplace of Decatur , Illinois , and by January 9 , 1945 was serving as a Master Sergeant in Company A , 242nd Infantry Regiment , 42nd Infantry Division . On that day , in Hatten , France , he manned a machine gun in defense of a command post being attacked by a numerically superior German force . When evacuation became necessary , he voluntarily stayed behind to cover the withdrawal . The next morning he moved to another command post , and again defended it against a continued assault by strong German forces and voluntarily covered the withdrawal of friendly forces when the post was abandoned . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor one year later , on January 10 , 1946 . Bertoldo left the Army while still a master sergeant . He died at age 49 and was buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery , San Bruno , California . He is survived by his son , David Bertoldo a retired Marine Officer who was awarded the Bronze Star as a Machine Gunner when he was an enlisted man in Vietnam . David now resides in Hemet California . Medal of Honor citation . Master Sergeant Bertoldo ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : He fought with extreme gallantry while guarding 2 command posts against the assault of powerful infantry and armored forces which had overrun the battalion ' s main line of resistance . On the close approach of enemy soldiers , he left the protection of the building he defended and set up his gun in the street , there to remain for almost 12 hours driving back attacks while in full view of his adversaries and completely exposed to 88 - mm . , machinegun and small - arms fire . He moved back inside the command post , strapped his machinegun to a table and covered the main approach to the building by firing through a window , remaining steadfast even in the face of 88 - mm . fire from tanks only 75 yards away . One shell blasted him across the room , but he returned to his weapon . When 2 enemy personnel carrier s led by a tank moved toward his position , he calmly waited for the troops to dismount and then , with the tank firing directly at him , leaned out of the window and mowed down the entire group of more than 20 Germans . Some time later , removal of the command post to another building was ordered . M / Sgt . Bertoldo voluntarily remained behind , covering the withdrawal of his comrades and maintaining his stand all night . In the morning he carried his machinegun to an adjacent building used as the command post of another battalion and began a day - long defense of that position . He broke up a heavy attack , launched by a self - propelled 88 - mm . gun covered by a tank and about 15 infantrymen . Soon afterward another 88 - mm . weapon moved up to within a few feet of his position , and , placing the muzzle of its gun almost inside the building , fired into the room , knocking him down and seriously wounding others . An American bazooka team set the German weapon afire , and M / Sgt . Bertoldo went back to his machinegun dazed as he was and killed several of the hostile troops as they attempted to withdraw . It was decided to evacuate the command post under the cover of darkness , but before the plan could be put into operation the enemy began an intensive assault supported by fire from their tanks and heavy guns . Disregarding the devastating barrage , he remained at his post and hurled white phosphorus grenades into the advancing enemy troops until they broke and retreated . A tank less than 50 yards away fired at his stronghold , destroyed the machinegun and blew him across the room again but he once more returned to the bitter fight and , with a rifle , single - handedly covered the withdrawal of his fellow soldiers when the post was finally abandoned . With inspiring bravery and intrepidity M / Sgt . Bertoldo withstood the attack of vastly superior forces for more than 48 hours without rest or relief , time after time escaping death only by the slightest margin while killing at least 40 hostile soldiers and wounding many more during his grim battle against the enemy hordes .