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| PFC John Masterson earned the Silver Star with the 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49434371/john-e-masterson https://www.eucmh.be/2015/06/05/7-ad-st-vith-belgium-16-20-december-1944/ |
John E. Masterson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
John was born on April 20, 1920 in Pennsylvania. His parents John and Edna were also both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a school janitor. John had no siblings. By 1940 John had completed four years of high school and still lived at home.
He was drafted into the army in February 1942. He became a private first class in the HQ Company, 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division. PFC Masterson and the rest of the 7th Armored Division landed on Omaha Beach in mid August 1944. He fought in battles at Chartres and was wounded on August 23 with shrapnel wounds in both hips, the day before the 7th AD crossed the Seine River. He was back with the 7th AD when it went to Maastricht in Holland for Operation Market Garden in the latter part of September. Newspaper accounts said he delayed and stopped a strong German counterattack against British and Canadian troops near Antwerp.
When the Battle of the Bulge broke out, The 7th Armored was sent to block the advance of the Germans near St. Vith. For nearly a week PFC Masterson helped delay the German advance despite the enemy outnumbering the Americans.
By December 22, 1944, the much weakened 7th AD was under heavy attack and PFC Masterson went missing in action after being wounded again. His actions that day resulted in a posthumous Silver Star. Facing overwhelming odds, the 7th AD could hold out no longer and withdrew on December 23. His death was confirmed that next spring.
Here is part of his citation:
PFC Masterson distinguished himself by gallantry in action on December 22, 1944, in the area of Crombach, Germany.
Manning a heavy machine-gun, Pvt. Masterson loosed a deadly stream of fire at the enemy and aided his unit greatly in repelling night attacks. When overwhelming pressure forced our withdrawal, he volunteered to cover the movement with his weapon. Only when the entire company had reached the new position did he take his gun out of action and move from the danger zone.
As our troops fought on from the second defense line, they came under heavy tank attack. When a soldier was wounded, Pvt. Masterson unhesitatingly went to his aid despite point-blank fire that swept the area. While attempting to evacuate the casualty to safety Pvt. Masterson was wounded himself.
The great courage and spirit of self sacrifice he displayed in a night of fierce action are in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.
His parents were presented with his posthumous Silver Star in November 1945.
His grave is at East Harrisburg Cemetery in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
JOHN PAUL STEVENS AND RONALD SPEIRS
Two other better known men were born on the exact same day as John Masterson.
John Paul Stevens was born to a wealthy family in Chicago. He graduated from the University of Chicago, majoring in English. He joined the US Navy on the day before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. During the war he served as an intelligent officer and earned the Bronze Star for helping to break the code that allowed for the US Army Air Forces to shoot down Admiral Yamamoto's plane.
Ronald Speirs was born in Scotland. His family came to America in 1924. He became an officer in the 101st Airborne Division and became the final commander of Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Speirs became well known when he was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
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| John Paul Stevens and Ronald Speirs https://www.shutterbug.com/content/face-face-richard-bells-powerful-portraits-show-wwii-veterans-now-and-back-then https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Speirs |
Speirs stayed in the army and also saw action in Korea. He retired as a lieutenant colonel. He died in 2007.
Last year on this date I profiled Battle of the Bulge fallen Loren Mayer, 9th Armored Division. You can read about Mayer here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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