Paul J. Wiedorfer, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient died he was , 90.

 Paul Joseph Wiedorfer 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 died he was , 90..

(January 17, 1921 – May 25, 2011)

 

Biography

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, raised in the 2400 block of McElderry Street, he attended St. Andrew's School, and graduated in 1940 from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. On November 11, 2008, a plaque honoring him was placed in Poly's Memorial Hall.^[2]
Married to his bride, Alice Stauffer, for just six months when Wiedorfer enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943, he was working as an apprentice power station operator at the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company in Baltimore,^[3] and was living in the 1900 block of Bank Street.^[4]
Wiedorfer received basic training at Camp Lee, Virginia. He was then assigned to the Quartermaster Corps, and then passed the examination for cadet air training. He was training to be a pilot, but the Army switched him to infantry because of greater need. On the way to England he crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the HMS Queen Mary, and by December 25, 1944, was serving as a private in Company G, 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division.^[2][3]

"So I thought, somebody's got to do something. And all of a sudden I said, 'Goddammit, let's see if we can get that nest.' I remember slipping, falling and the good Lord was with me and I got it. I got two of 'em."

Paul J. Wiedorfer
On the Medal of Honor suicide charge^[3]

On that Christmas Day, near Chaumont, Belgium, Wiedorfer single-handedly charged across 40 yards of open ground, destroyed two German machine gun emplacements and took six Germans prisoner. He was subsequently promoted to staff sergeant and on May 29, 1945, issued the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.
While crossing the Saar River, he was severely wounded February 10, 1945, by a mortar shell that blew up near him; shrapnel broke his left leg, ripped into his stomach, and seriously injured two fingers on his right hand. The soldier next to him died from his wounds and Paul credited that soldier for saving his life. Recent research has discovered the soldier's name to be PFC Milton C Smithers of Huntingdon, New Jersey. Paul was evacuated to the 137th United States Army General Hospital in England where he was placed in traction. While in the hospital a sergeant reading Stars and Stripes asked him how he spelled his name, and then told him he had received the Medal of Honor. Later, on May 29, 1945, Brigadier General Egmont F. Koenig with a band entered the ward to present him with his medal.^[2][3]

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if the Medal of Honor didn't exist because there were no wars and we could all live in peace? And that the only way to spell war was love? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Paul J. Wiedorfer
On the Medal of Honor^[5]

Wiedorfer reached the rank of master sergeant before retiring from the Army. In addition to the Medal of Honor he was also awarded a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.^[3]
He returned to Baltimore on June 11, 1945, and was given a ticker tape parade with General George C. Marshall and Maryland governor Herbert O'Conor in attendance.^[2]
After the war he spent another three years recovering in different Army hospitals and then returned to Baltimore Gas & Electric, and retired in 1981 after 40 years of service. He and Alice had four children.^[2][3]
Wiedorfer died in Baltimore on May 25, 2011, at age 90. He will be buried in Baltimore's Moreland Memorial Park Cemetery on June 7, 2011.^[6]

 

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