Master Sergeant Nicholas Oresko, thank you and goodbye.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/05/20834016-oldest-living-medal-of-honor-recipient-dies-at-age-96-in-new-jersey?lite

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66057

By Daniella Silva, NBC News

The oldest living Medal of Honor recipient -- who singlehandedly took out two machine gun bunkers during the Battle of the Bulge despite being wounded -- died Friday night at a New Jersey hospital.
Nicholas Oresko, a former U.S. Army master sergeant who served during World War II, died at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey, hospital officials said Saturday. He was 96.
The hospital expressed condolences in a statement that lauded Oresko as “a true American hero.”
A November 2011 story on the U.S. Department of Defense website said Oresko was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient.
Oresko, a native of Bayonne, N.J., received the medal from President Harry Truman on Oct. 30, 1945, according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History’s website. The Medal of Honor is the highest award bestowed upon members of the Armed Services of the United States.
Oresko was a platoon leader when his unit was hit by deadly machine gun fire near Tettington, Germany, on Jan. 23, 1945. According to the Medal of Honor official citation, “braving bullets which struck about him” Oresko moved close enough to throw a grenade into a German bunker. He then rushed the bunker to kill the remaining enemy soldiers.
Machine gun fire from another position then seriously wounded him in the hip, but he attacked the bunker alone with a grenade, then finished off the German troops manning it with his rifle, according to the citation.
Despite his wound and blood loss, Oresko refused to be evacuated “until assured the mission was successfully accomplished.”
The Army veteran had been hospitalized after injuring himself in a fall at an assisted living center in Cresskill, according to The Associated Press. He died of complications from surgery for a broken right femur.
The Bergen Record reported that several veterans and young members of the military stayed with Oresko in his final days after a friend wrote about his health problems on a Facebook page and noted that Oresko had no immediate family still living.
“It was humbling to see the outpouring of appreciation and gratitude for his service and genuine affection for him by so many visitors in his last days,” said Warren Geller, president and CEO of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, in the hospital’s statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Very nice of the former service men and young military personnel to stay with Mr. Oresko until the end. Bravo to them!

 

Outstanding loyalty and respect for a fellow soldier. I couldn't agree with you more, Rick.

Be at peace, Mr. Oresko. :S!

 

:S! Yep, Tommy. Many of our Armed Forces personnel from other conflicts and from today carry on the outstanding citizenship displayed by our "Greatest Generation"! Many random citizens act in exemplary ways on a daily basis as well. I just hope these messages get out and affect more of our citizenry in just and honorable fashion as a hope for the continued strength of the Free World and as good examples for the youth of today......... :S!

 

U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Chris Carbone kisses the casket containing the body of Nicholas Oresko, a New Jersey soldier who had been the nation's oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor, during funeral services at George Washington Memorial Park, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013, in Paramus, N.J. Oresko died at the age of 96 on Oct. 4. The Army master sergeant was badly wounded as he single-handedly took out two enemy bunkers during World War II in the Battle of the Bulge in 1945. Carbone was a close friend of Oresko. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) —