James Megellas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Megellas
Nickname Maggie
Place of birth Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Unit Company "H", 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division

James Megellas is a retired United States Army officer who commanded Company "H" of the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 82nd Airborne Division during the Second World War.

Contents

[edit] Early life

James Megellas was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

[edit] During WWII

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Megellas was a senior at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin and in 1942, he graduated with a BA Degree, and an ROTC Commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry.

His first taste of combat was to come in the rugged Italian mountains outside Naples, near Venafro, where he was wounded and hospitalised.

In October 1943, while the remainder of the 82nd Airborne departed Italy to recoup before the Normandy Invasion, the 504th PIR remained behind and took part in Operation Shingle. On 22 January 1944, the 504th took part in amphibious assault at Anzio. The fighting took a heavy toll, and it wasn't until April before the regiment was withdrawn.

Due to the losses at Anzio, the 504th didn't take part in the D-Day Normandy Landings. However, they did parachute into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden, the airborne invasion of The Netherlands.

Megellas took part in the famous crossing of the Waal River (subject of the film, "A Bridge Too Far"), where the American forces crossed the river in flimsy wooden boats whilst under heavy machine gun fire. For his conduct during this action, Private John Towle[1] was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

In late December 1944, the regiment was rushed into the Battle of the Bulge.

On January 28, 1945, First Lieutenant Megellas' platoon were advancing towards Herresbach, Belgium. Struggling through heavy snow and freezing cold, they surprised 200 Germans who were advancing out of the town. Catching the Germans largely off-guard, the attack proved to be devastating, with the Americans killing and capturing a large number and causing many others to flee.

However, as they prepared to assault the town, a German Mark V tank took aim at them. Megellas ran towards it, and disabled it with a single grenade. Climbing on top of it, he then dropped another grenade into the tank, eliminating the threat to his men. He then lead his men as they cleared and seized the town, and not one of his men was killed or injured.

Throughout the war, Megellas served with Company H, 504 PIR, which he would later come to command. In January 1946, he led his company down 5th Avenue in New York in the Victory Parade.

[edit] After WWII

In 1946, Megellas was discharged from Army with the rank of Captain.

[edit] Medals and Decorations

He was also the first American to be decorated by the Government of Holland when he was awarded the “Military Order of Willhelm Orange Lanyard”. Selected by General James Gavin as the most outstanding officer of the 82nd Airborne Division, it was presented to him by the Dutch Minister of War in Berlin in 1945.

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

January 31, 2007, Congressman Thomas Petri of Wisconsin introduced bill HR795 in the United States House of Representatives to request the President to award the Medal of Honor to Megellas for acts of valor on January 28, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge.

[edit] See also

United States Army Portal

[edit] References

  • All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe, James Megellas, Presidio Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8914-1784-2

[edit] External links