Russell (1920-2009) Army Sargeant , awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions near Kayserberg, in the mountains of the Alsace region of France, Jan. 8, 1945. While on a patrol, Dunham¿s men (which included his brother) became pinned down by heavy machineugun fire from German held Hill 616 above them and heavy artily fire landing behind. With no way to go but up, Dunham, moving in advance of his men with only a mattress to cover the fact he was running through snow. Running ahead of his men successfully attacked and destroyed three machine gun emplacements. Facing the first emplacement, Dunham crawled 75 feet under direct fire until he was within 10 yards from the gun when he stood up and charged forward. Shot in the chest and severely wounded at close range he was thrown back down the hill. Despite the pain he got up and again attacked, this time killing two Germans and capturing another by grabbing him by the collar. Attacking the second machine gun nest he destroyed it with grenades and rifle fire. Despite the fact that the blood from his wound made him an easy target against the snow, Dunham continued up the hill and charged a third emplacement which he destroyed. In spearheading this spectacular advance, Dunham killed 9 German, wounded seven and captured two. Two weeks later he was surrounded by tanks and forced to surrender. When the two Germans checked him over they got into an argument over his cigarettes and missed the pistol he has in a shoulder holster. When one of the two soldiers guarding him stopped at a bar he shot the other and made his escape and despite severely frozen feet was able to reach the American lines. In an interview he once was asked what reminded him of the war and he answered ¿the schrapnel in my legis a reminder of the war we fought. Sig. "Russell Dunham CMH"

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