A Sniper Shattered His Rifle — So This 18-Year-Old Took Down 23 Germans With Grenades
On April 18, 1945, an 18-year-old private from Staten Island named Joseph Frederick Merrell stood in a field of market gardens north of Nuremberg, Germany, with two German heavy machine guns pinning his entire company to the ground. When a sniper's bullet destroyed his rifle, he was left with nothing but three hand grenades. Instead of retreating, he charged 200 yards through open fire, destroyed both machine gun positions, killed 23 German soldiers, and was shot through the abdomen before being killed by a final burst of enemy fire. He was 18 years old. He acted entirely on his own initiative. No one ordered him forward. His extraordinary courage earned him the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, awarded posthumously through War Department General Order Number 21 dated February 26, 1946. Merrell served with Company I, Third Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry Regiment, Third Infantry Division, the same regiment that produced Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of World War Two. The SS barracks captured on the same day he died was immediately renamed Merrell Barracks in his honor, and that building today serves as Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. A United States Navy cargo ship, a Staten Island Ferry boat, and a valley in Antarctica all carry his name. He died 20 days before Germany surrendered. This is his story, told straight from the official Medal of Honor citation and verified historical records, because most people have never heard the name Joseph Frederick Merrell, and that is the last injustice in a story that contains no others. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, official citation for Private Joseph Frederick Merrell: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/jose... United States Army Center of Military History, World War Two Medal of Honor recipients list including Merrell citation: https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/cit... Military Times Hall of Valor, Joseph Merrell record: https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/... Find A Grave, Private Joseph Frederick Merrell memorial record confirming burial location, dates, and biographical details: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8... NYC Parks Department, Clove Lakes Park monument record for Private Joseph F. Merrell Jr. memorial plaque: https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/clo... National War Memorial Registry, Private Joseph F. Merrell Jr. Medal of Honor Memorial: https://www.nationalwarmemorialregist... Bundesamt fur Migration und Fluchtlinge, official German federal government history of the Southern Barracks confirming the naming of Merrell Barracks on April 18, 1945: https://www.bamf.de/EN/Behoerde/Chron... Cold War Outpost, US Army Merrell Barracks history confirming Second Armored Cavalry Regiment tenure: https://www.coldwaroutpost.com/post/c... United States Naval History and Heritage Command, official ship history of USNS Private Joseph F. Merrell: https://www.history.navy.mil/research... Congressional Medal of Honor Society, official citation for First Lieutenant Francis Xavier Burke confirming April 17, 1945 action and kill figures: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/fran... Congressional Medal of Honor Society, official citation for First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Daly confirming April 18, 1945 action: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/mich... HistoryNet, Breaking the City of Kings, The Battle for Nuremberg 1945, confirming battle dates, garrison composition, and Medal of Honor actions: https://historynet.com/breaking-the-c... Task and Purpose, 80 years ago American soldiers captured the center of Nazi Germany, confirming Nuremberg surrender time and battle details: https://taskandpurpose.com/history/wo... HistoryNet, Audie Murphy One Man Stand at Holtzwihr, confirming Murphy's January 26, 1945 action, unit, and details: https://www.historynet.com/audie-murp... National World War Two Museum, Audie Murphy article confirming his unit, action, and Medal of Honor: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war... Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds Nuremberg, confirming SS barracks construction dates 1936 to 1939: https://museums.nuernberg.de/document... Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, confirming Nuremberg Laws announced September 15, 1935: https://hmd.org.uk/resource/15-septem... Victoria Cross Online, Joseph Frederick Merrell Medal of Honor profile: https://victoriacrossonline.co.uk/jos...
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