US Army SSG Jack Pendleton & His Selfless Courage during WWII

Welcome back everyone. On today's episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who had to take on the role of family provider at a young age.  A man who, instead of waiting to be drafted, made the decision to enlist and fight for his country.  A man who volunteered for a dangerous mission which allowed his unit to achieve its objective.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient US Army Staff Sergeant Jack Pendleton. 

Jack was born on March 31, 1918 in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota to parents Grover and Dora Pendleton.  In 1928, when he was ten years old, the family moved to Yakima, WA.   Three years later, their father, Grover died on Christmas day, leaving Dora, Jack, and his brother Kenneth to support the family.  Jack worked part-time at a grocery store and found work in the orchards around his home.  Before he was able to complete high school, he was forced to drop out and work full-time.  

In 1942 Jack and his brother moved to CA to work at a sawmill, but he joined the Army in July of that year.   He completed basic training at Ft. Lewis before receiving advanced infantry training at Camp Claiborne in Louisiana.   Assigned to the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, he proved to be more than a competent soldier and had attained the rank of staff sergeant by the time he, and his unit, left for Europe in 1944.

By October of that year, the Allied forces had advanced further west and were now fighting the Germans on their own ground.  On October 12th, Sgt. Pendleton was part of company I as it approached the German town of Bardenberg, just seven miles from the Belgian border.  Sgt. Pendleton and the other men of the company had made it about two-third of the way through the town before they faced heavy German resistance and were pinned down by machine gun fire.  

The Germans had placed this machine gun, which was protected by a second gun, at a strategic point at an intersection, where it could fire against approaching soldiers from multiple directions.  Casualties were mounting as many attempts were made to destroy the machine gun, but all proved unsuccessful.  At least not until Sgt. Pendleton volunteered to lead his squad on another attempt.

With Sgt. Pendleton ten yards ahead of anyone else, the men crawled approximately 130 yards across an area that provided very little cover.  It was at this point that Sgt. Pendleton was hit by machine gun fire and his leg was seriously wounded.  Despite this, he ordered his men to halt their advance and he continued forward alone, armed with only hand grenades.  He made slow progress but he was eventually able to get to within ten yards of the gun.  His attempt to neutralize the gun was unsuccessful when a burst of machine gun fire hit him, killing him instantly.   

While Sgt. Pendleton was making his advance on the gun position, another squad had joined his and they were able to maneuver unseen to a point where they could destroy the gun.  

Due to his selfless act, he was credited with saving many lives and his company was able to eliminate all resistance in the town and push the remaining Germans further West.

For his actions that day, Staff Sergeant Jack Pendleton was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, with his mother Dora receiving the medal on March 15, 1945.

Sgt. Pendleton was first buried in Belgium, but in October 1947 his body was returned to Yakima where he now rests at the Tahoma Cemetery.

Staff Sergeant Pendleton’s legacy lives on.  In 1948 the US Army acquired the victory ship SS Mandon Victory and renamed it the Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton.  It was later acquired by the US Navy and it kept its name until it was decommissioned in 1973.    

On a battlefield in Bardenberg, Staff Sergeant Jack Pendleton faced impossible odds but chose to face them head on.  His selfless sacrifice saved the lives of his men and ensured victory that day.  It speaks to one's character when they would put the lives of their men around them before their own.     

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com.  

If you want to listen to our episodes early, we release new episodes on our YouTube channel of the same name on Fridays at 5pm.  Also, on our channel we release daily YouTube shorts that highlight our Nation’s heroes, most of whom haven’t been featured on the show yet. 

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