BRILES, HERSCHEL F.
Rank and organization:
Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Co. C, 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Place
and date: Near Scherpenseel, Germany, 20 November 1944. Entered
service at: Fort Des Moines, lowa. Birth: Colfax, lowa. G.O.
No.: 77, 10 September 1945.
Citation:
He was leading a platoon of destroyers across an exposed slope near
Scherpenseel, Germany, on 20 November 1944, when they came under heavy
enemy artillery fire. A direct hit was scored on 1 of the vehicles,
killing 1 man, seriously wounding 2 others, and setting the destroyer
afire. With a comrade, S/Sgt. Briles left the cover of his own armor
and raced across ground raked by artillery and small-arms fire to the
rescue of the men in the shattered destroyer. Without hesitation, he
lowered himself into the burning turret, removed the wounded and then
extinguished the fire. From a position he assumed the next morning, he
observed hostile infantrymen advancing. With his machinegun, he poured
such deadly fire into the enemy ranks that an entire pocket of 55
Germans surrendered, clearing the way for a junction between American
units which had been held up for 2 days. Later that day, when another
of his destroyers was hit by a concealed enemy tank, he again left
protection to give assistance. With the help of another soldier, he
evacuated two wounded under heavy fire and, returning to the burning
vehicle, braved death from exploding ammunition to put out the flames.
By his heroic initiative and complete disregard for personal safety,
S/Sgt. Briles was largely responsible for causing heavy enemy
casualties, forcing the surrender of 55 Germans, making possible the
salvage of our vehicles, and saving the lives of wounded comrades.
