Ernest W. Prussman

Ernest W. Prussman
BornSeptember 15, 1921
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedSeptember 8, 1944(1944-09-08) (aged 22)
near Loscoat, Brittany, France
Place of burial
Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-James, France
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Years of service1942–1944
RankPrivate First Class
Service number31227157[1]
Unit13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor

Ernest William Prussman (September 15, 1921 – September 8, 1944)[2] was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Biography

Prussman was born in 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland. He had a twin brother, Earl, and their father's name was Herbert.[3] In June 1938, the twins graduated from the Edison school within the Boston Public Schools system.[4]

Prussman joined the Army in October 1942; he was living on Parsons Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston at the time.[5][6] He was a clerk in a chain store prior to his enlistment.[5] Two of Prussman's brothers also served in the military during the war; Henry in the Army Air Forces and Calvin in the Navy.[7][5]

Prussman served as a private first class in the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. He first saw action in France in July 1944.[8] Two months later, on September 8, during combat near Loscoat (now an industrial district of Brest) in Brittany, Prussman advanced ahead of his unit and single-handedly captured several enemy soldiers and destroyed a machine gun nest before being killed. He was buried at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-James, Normandy, France.[9]

On April 19, 1945, Prussman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.[3] In a Patriots' Day ceremony in Boston, the award was presented to his mother by General Sherman Miles.[3]

In September 1945, The Boston Globe noted that Prussman was the sole Medal of Honor recipient from Boston during World War II.[5][a]

Medal of Honor citation

Prussman's headstone in France

Private First Class Prussman's official Medal of Honor citation reads:[11]

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty on September 8, 1944, near Les Coates,[b] Brittany, France. When the advance of the flank companies of 2 battalions was halted by intense enemy mortar, machinegun, and sniper fire from a fortified position on his left, Pfc. Prussman maneuvered his squad to assault the enemy fortifications. Hurdling a hedgerow, he came upon 2 enemy riflemen whom he disarmed. After leading his squad across an open field to the next hedgerow, he advanced to a machinegun position, destroyed the gun, captured its crew and 2 riflemen. Again advancing ahead of his squad in the assault, he was mortally wounded by an enemy rifleman, but as he fell to the ground he threw a handgrenade, killing his opponent. His superb leadership and heroic action at the cost of his life so demoralized the enemy that resistance at this point collapsed, permitting the 2 battalions to continue their advance.

Memorials

In October 1964, a local American Legion post dedicated the intersection of Goodenough Street and Faneuil Street[c] in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston in honor of Prussman.[12] In June 1965, the City of Boston officially named it Ernest W. Prussman Square.[13]

In May 1994, a park at Fort Jackson in South Carolina—then home to the 13th Infantry Regiment—was dedicated in Prussman's memory; his brother Calvin attended the dedication ceremony.[14]

A statue of Prussman was dedicated on Memorial Day of 2018 near the intersection of Murdock Street and Cambridge Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.[15][d] The Neighborhood Task Force at Boston College provided a grant for the statue.[16] Jeff Buccacio (whose later work includes the statue of Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium) was the sculptor.[16][17]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Prussman was one of 23 soldiers from Massachusetts who received the Medal of Honor for their actions during World War II.[10]
  2. ^ Likely an incorrect transcription of Loscoat.
  3. ^ 42°21′20″N 71°09′16″W / 42.355685°N 71.154343°W / 42.355685; -71.154343
  4. ^ 42°21′01″N 71°08′51″W / 42.350176°N 71.147506°W / 42.350176; -71.147506

References

  1. ^ "WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946". fold3.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  2. ^ "Draft Registration Card". fold3.com. Selective Service System. February 1942. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "FD, World War Dead Honored, Hero Cited on Patriots' Day". The Boston Globe. April 20, 1945. p. 12. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Intermediate Schools (cont'd)". The Boston Globe. June 24, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Casey, Gene R. (September 7, 1945). "Pfc Ernest Prussman Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor Posthumously". The Boston Globe. p. 14. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)". archives.gov. National Archives and Records Administration.
  7. ^ "Pfc Ernest Prussman". The Boston Globe. October 1, 1944. p. 32. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Brave Soldier Not Forgotten". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. AP. April 20, 1945. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Index Record for Ernest W Prussman". fold3.com. American Battle Monuments Commission. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  10. ^ "Honor roll: Massachusetts World War II Medal of Honor winners". The Boston Globe. January 11, 1997. p. B1. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Medal of Honor recipients – World War II (M-S)". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  12. ^ "Legion to Name Square After Brighton Hero". The Boston Globe. October 16, 1964. p. 19. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Naming of Intersections in Honor of Deceased Veterans". Report of Proceedings | City Council of Boston (1965). June 14, 1965. p. 123. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ^ "Fort Jackson memorial". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. May 21, 1994. p. B4. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Brighton Medal of Honor recipient statue unveiled" (PDF). The Hyde Park Bulletin. Vol. 17, no. 22. May 31, 2018. p. 14. Retrieved August 10, 2025 – via Weebly.
  16. ^ a b adamg (May 28, 2018). "Honoring a Medal of Honor recipient in Brighton". universalhub.com.
  17. ^ "Honoring Private Ernest W. Prussman". buccaciosculptureservices.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
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