Frank D. Peregory: Medal of Honour

Of the 9,386 soldiers interred at Colleville, three of them received the Congress Medal of Honour, the highest distinction of their Country. Frank D. Peregory did not know on that 8th June in 1944 that he would go down in History for taking part in the liberation of Grandcampe with the 29th Infantry Division. Six days later, Sergeant Peregory was killed near Gouvains. He attempted to take a machine-gun nest single-handed. This act of patriotism and bravery won for him posthumously, recognition from his native land. Frank Peregory was married in 1941 his honeymoon lasted just 2 days.

Technical Sergeant, Frank D. Peregory



Frank D. Peregory Grave showing the text in Gold.

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PEREGORY, FRANK D.

Rank and Organization: Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. Place and Date Grandcampe France, 8 June 1944. Entered Service at: Charlottesville, Va. Born. 10 April 1915, Esmont, Va. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1945.

Citation:

On 8 June 1944, the 3d Battalion of the 116th Infantry was advancing on the strongly held German defences at Grandcampe, France, when the leading elements were suddenly halted by decimating machinegun fire from a firmly entrenched enemy force on the high ground overlooking the town. After numerous attempts to neutralize the enemy position by supporting artillery and tank fire had proved ineffective, T/Sgt. Peregory, on his own initiative, advanced up the hill under withering fire, and worked his way to the crest where he discovered an entrenchment leading to the main enemy fortifications 200 yards away. Without hesitating, he leaped into the trench and moved toward the emplacement. Encountering a squad of enemy riflemen, he fearlessly attacked them with hand grenades and bayonet, killed 8 and forced 3 to surrender. Continuing along the trench, he single-handedly forced the surrender of 32 more riflemen, captured the machine gunners, and opened the way for the leading elements of the battalion to advance and secure its objective. The extraordinary gallantry and aggressiveness displayed by T/Sgt. Peregory are exemplary of the highest tradition of the armed forces.


Peregory had demonstrated his quick thinking under pressure even prior to leaving the United States for combat. In early 1942, as his unit was moving along an icy road in North Carolina one of the trucks slipped down an embankment and plunged into a small river. Two men were trapped under the canvas cover and would soon be drowned. Peregory borrowed a knife from another soldier and jumped into the freezing water to cut the top and brought each man to the bank safely. For this deed he was awarded the Soldiers Medal, the Army's highest decoration for valor, at the risk of one's life, but not related to combat. Unfortunately Peregory never saw his Medal of Honor, he was killed in action ten days later.