- 2 days ago
Why Technical Sergeant Russell Dunham wore a white mattress cover and carried 72 pounds of ammunition against three German machine gun nests during WW2 — and saved 120 pinned American soldiers. This World War 2 story reveals how improvised camouflage and refusing to retreat with a 10-inch wound changed one deadly assault.
January 8, 1945. Technical Sergeant Russell Dunham, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, crouched at the base of Hill 616 near Kaysersberg, France. His platoon was trapped between German machine guns and artillery fire. Dunham tore open a white mattress cover, draped it over his uniform, and loaded himself with 12 carbine magazines and a dozen grenades. Every training manual said a lone soldier couldn't assault fortified positions. His commanders called it suicide.
They were all wrong.
What Dunham discovered crawling up that snow-covered slope wasn't about following doctrine. It was about improvisation and refusing to stop even after a rifle bullet carved a 10-inch gash across his back. When a German grenade landed beside him, he kicked it away and kept fighting. By the end of the assault, other soldiers from Company I witnessed something impossible —
January 8, 1945. Technical Sergeant Russell Dunham, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, crouched at the base of Hill 616 near Kaysersberg, France. His platoon was trapped between German machine guns and artillery fire. Dunham tore open a white mattress cover, draped it over his uniform, and loaded himself with 12 carbine magazines and a dozen grenades. Every training manual said a lone soldier couldn't assault fortified positions. His commanders called it suicide.
They were all wrong.
What Dunham discovered crawling up that snow-covered slope wasn't about following doctrine. It was about improvisation and refusing to stop even after a rifle bullet carved a 10-inch gash across his back. When a German grenade landed beside him, he kicked it away and kept fighting. By the end of the assault, other soldiers from Company I witnessed something impossible —
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00:00At 14.30 on January 8, 1945, Technical Sergeant Russell Dunham crouched in knee-deep snow at the base of
00:08Hill 616 near Kaisersburg, France,
00:11watching German machine gun fire cut down the winter sky above his pinned platoon.
00:1724 years old, three campaigns, zero plans to die today.
00:23The Germans had positioned three MG42 machine guns in timber emplacements up the snow-covered slope,
00:30each gun capable of firing 1,200 rounds per minute.
00:35Dunham's platoon had been advancing through the Alsace-Lorraine region when they walked into a killing box.
00:41Machine gun fire raked down from the hilltop. Artillery shells exploded behind them.
00:47The only direction left was straight up a 40-degree slope into converging fields of fire.
00:54Eleven men from 2nd Platoon had already been killed that week.
00:58The snow around their position was churned red.
01:01Every soldier in Company I knew the statistics.
01:05In the Vosges Mountains campaign, the 3rd Infantry Division had lost more men per day than any other American division
01:13in Europe.
01:14The Germans held the high ground.
01:16They had clear sight lines.
01:18They had ammunition.
01:20Dunham looked at the hill.
01:22His platoon was 35 yards behind him, pressed flat in the snow, unable to move forward or back.
01:29If they stayed pinned down, German artillery would bracket their position and kill them all.
01:35If they retreated, they'd be cut down in the open.
01:38The machine guns had them locked in place.
01:41The temperature was 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
01:44The snow was 18 inches deep.
01:47Dunham wore standard olive drab wool, which made him a dark target against the white landscape.
01:53Every other soldier who'd tried to move had been spotted immediately and forced back down.
01:59The Germans owned that hill.
02:02Dunham crawled back to the company position and found a white mattress cover.
02:06He tore it open and pulled it over his uniform like a robe.
02:10Then he started loading.
02:13He shoved 12 30-round carbine magazines into every pocket and loop on his uniform.
02:18He snagged a dozen Mark II fragmentation grenades onto his belt.
02:22He hooked more grenades through his suspenders.
02:24He jammed grenades into the buttonholes of his field jacket.
02:28When he stood up, he was carrying 72 pounds of ammunition and explosives on top of his rifle.
02:34His platoon sergeant looked at him.
02:37Dunham didn't explain.
02:38He just started crawling up the hill.
02:40The first 75 yards took him 18 minutes.
02:44He moved during the moments when German fire shifted to other sectors.
02:48He pressed himself flat when the MG-42 swept back across his approach.
02:53The snow soaked through his mattress cover.
02:55His hands went numb.
02:57The rifle sling cut into his shoulder from the weight of the grenades.
03:01At 75 yards, he was 10 yards from the first machine gun emplacement.
03:05The timber bunker had been reinforced with logs and positioned to give interlocking fire with the other two positions.
03:12Three Germans manned the gun.
03:14One fed the belt.
03:16One fired.
03:17One scanned for targets.
03:19If you want to see how Dunham's mattress cover camouflage turned out, please hit that like button.
03:24It helps us share more forgotten stories like this one.
03:27Subscribe if you haven't already.
03:30Back to Dunham.
03:31Dunham rose to his feet and charged.
03:33The Germans spotted the movement.
03:36The machine gunner swung the barrel toward him.
03:38At six yards, the gun opened fire.
03:41Rounds tore through Dunham's white robe.
03:44Then a rifle bullet caught him across the back, carving a 10-inch gash from his left shoulder blade to
03:49his spine.
03:50The impact spun him completely around and threw him 15 yards back down the hill into the snow.
03:57He landed face down.
03:58Blood poured from the wound, soaking through the mattress cover and staining the white fabric bright red against the snow.
04:05The pain was excruciating.
04:07He could feel the wound pulling open with every breath.
04:11For five seconds, he didn't move.
04:13Then a German egg grenade landed in the snow, two feet from his head.
04:17Dunham kicked it away with his boot.
04:19It exploded five yards down slope, close enough that the concussion lifted him off the ground.
04:26And Russell Dunham got back on his feet.
04:30He came up the hill firing.
04:32His M1 carbine was still loaded with 28 rounds.
04:36The German machine gunner swung the MG42 back toward him, but Dunham was already inside the gun's minimum traverse arc.
04:43At four yards, he fired a three-round burst into the gunner's chest.
04:47The assistant gunner reached for his rifle.
04:49Dunham shot him twice.
04:51Both Germans dropped.
04:53The third crew member, the ammunition feeder, threw his hands up and started shouting in German.
04:58Dunham's carbine was empty, 30 rounds gone in 18 seconds.
05:03He slung the rifle, grabbed the German by the collar of his Feldgrau coat, and hauled him out of the
05:08timber emplacement.
05:09Then he shoved him down the hill toward the American lines.
05:12The German half ran, half fell through the snow.
05:16Dunham's platoon would take him for interrogation.
05:19Blood was running down Dunham's back in steady streams now.
05:22The bullet wound had torn through muscle and tissue, but missed his spine by less than two inches.
05:28Every movement pulled the gash wider.
05:30The white mattress cover was soaked red from his shoulders to his waist.
05:34Against the snow, he looked like a flag.
05:37The second machine gun position was 50 yards uphill and to the right.
05:42The Germans manning that gun had watched Dunham take out the first nest.
05:45They knew he was coming.
05:47They'd adjusted their field of fire to cover the approach.
05:50Dunham could see the timber logs of their emplacement and the dark shape of the barrel tracking across the slope.
05:56He reloaded the carbine with a fresh 30-round magazine.
06:0011 magazines left.
06:0110 grenades remaining.
06:03He started moving.
06:05The Germans opened fire at 40 yards.
06:07Rounds snapped past his head and kicked up geysers of snow around his boots.
06:12Dunham went down and crawled.
06:14The pain in his back was so intense he had to stop every few yards to keep from blacking out.
06:19He could feel blood pooling inside his uniform.
06:23His hands were shaking from blood loss and cold, but he kept crawling.
06:27At 25 yards from the second emplacement, he rose to one knee and pulled two Mark II grenades from his
06:33belt.
06:34He yanked both pins, counted two seconds, and hurled them in a high arc toward the timber bunker.
06:40The Germans saw them coming.
06:42One of them screamed.
06:44Both grenades detonated inside the emplacement within half a second of each other.
06:49The combined blast threw logs and equipment out of the position.
06:53The machine gun went silent.
06:55Dunham moved forward, carbine raised.
06:58Smoke poured from the shattered emplacement.
07:01He could see body parts in the snow.
07:03The entire three-man crew had been killed by the grenades.
07:06He didn't stop.
07:08He turned his attention downslope to the supporting riflemen who'd been dug into foxholes around the machine gun position.
07:15Six German infantry were scrambling out of their holes, trying to get clear.
07:19Dunham fired into them from 15 yards.
07:22He went through another full magazine, shooting at every shape that moved.
07:26He hit three.
07:27The others broke and ran up the hill, away from the American advance.
07:32Dunham let them go.
07:33He had one target left.
07:35The third machine gun was 65 yards further up the slope.
07:39It was the highest position, the one with the best field of fire over the entire American advance.
07:45The Germans there had been watching Dunham's assault for the last 12 minutes.
07:49They knew exactly where he was.
07:51They knew he was wounded.
07:53They knew his white coat was now blood-red and visible against the snow from 200 yards.
07:58And they had him in their sights.
08:00Dunham looked up the hill.
08:02The barrel of the MG-42 was aimed directly at him.
08:06Rifle grenades started exploding in the snow 10 yards from his position.
08:10The concussions knocked him sideways.
08:13He hit the ground as machine gun fire tore through the air where he'd been standing.
08:17He was out in the open.
08:19No cover.
08:20The blood trail behind him in the snow looked like a road.
08:23And the Germans on top of the hill weren't going to miss again.
08:29Dunham crawled.
08:30The third machine gun position was dug into a cluster of timber 40 yards ahead and 30 feet higher in
08:36elevation.
08:38The Germans had reinforced it with sandbags and positioned it to cover the entire southern approach to hill 616.
08:45Every few seconds, the MG-42 would fire a burst, walking rounds across the snow, searching for him.
08:52He moved during the gaps between bursts.
08:55Five yards.
08:57Stop.
08:58Wait for the gun to traverse.
08:59Three more yards.
09:01The snow was so cold it burned his hands.
09:04The wound in his back had gone from sharp pain to a deep, grinding ache that radiated through his entire
09:11torso.
09:12He'd lost enough blood that his vision was starting to tunnel at the edges.
09:16But he still had nine magazines and eight grenades.
09:20At 40 yards from the third position, a rifle grenade exploded six yards to his left.
09:25The blast threw snow and frozen dirt across his back, and the impact from the shrapnel felt like being kicked
09:32by a horse.
09:33He didn't know if he'd been hit again.
09:35He couldn't tell anymore.
09:36Everything hurt.
09:37He kept crawling.
09:39He kept crawling.
09:4030 yards.
09:4025.
09:41The machine gun fire was getting more accurate.
09:44The Germans could see him now, even against the snow.
09:47The blood had soaked through the entire mattress cover.
09:51He was leaving a red trail that pointed directly to his position like an arrow.
09:5520 yards.
09:5715.
09:58At 15 yards, Dunham stopped crawling and gathered his legs under him.
10:02He had to time this perfectly.
10:04The MG42 fired in bursts of 8 to 12 rounds, then paused for 2 to 3 seconds while the gunner
10:11readjusted his aim.
10:13Dunham counted.
10:14Burst.
10:151.
10:162.
10:173.
10:18He lunged to his feet and staggered forward.
10:21The Germans saw him immediately.
10:23The machine gunner swung the barrel.
10:26But Dunham was already moving, already pulling grenades from his belt.
10:30He had two Mark IIs in his hands.
10:32Pins pulled.
10:33At 10 yards, he threw them both.
10:36The first grenade hit the sandbags and bounced into the emplacement.
10:40The second went through the narrow firing slit.
10:42Dunham dove flat as both grenades detonated.
10:45The blast was massive.
10:48Sandbags flew apart.
10:49Timber logs cracked and splintered.
10:51The machine gun barrel was blown sideways off its mount.
10:54Dunham pushed himself up.
10:56Smoke poured from the shattered position.
10:58He moved forward with his carbine raised, scanning for movement.
11:02All three crew members were down.
11:05One was still moving, trying to reach for a rifle.
11:08Dunham shot him once.
11:10The Germans stopped moving.
11:11Then he heard boots crunching in snow behind him.
11:15Dunham spun around.
11:16A German rifleman had come up from one of the support foxholes, maybe 20 feet away.
11:21The German raised his Carabiner 98 rifle and fired at point-blank range.
11:27The bullet missed Dunham's head by three inches.
11:30Dunham fired back.
11:31His first round hit the German in the throat.
11:34His second hit center mass.
11:36The German fell backward into the snow and didn't move.
11:39Dunham stood on the hilltop, breathing hard.
11:42His carbine was empty again.
11:44He'd fired 175 rounds.
11:47He'd thrown 11 grenades.
11:50Three machine gun positions were destroyed.
11:52Nine Germans were dead.
11:54Seven more were wounded.
11:56Two had been taken prisoner.
11:57And his platoon was no longer pinned down.
12:00Below him, he could see Company I advancing up the slope.
12:04His brother Ralph was among them, moving with second squad.
12:07The Germans were falling back to secondary positions further up the ridge.
12:12The attack was succeeding.
12:14Hill's 616 would be in American hands by nightfall.
12:18Dunham looked down at his uniform.
12:20The white mattress cover was completely red now, saturated with blood from the neck down
12:26to his knees.
12:26He could feel the wound in his back pulling apart with every breath.
12:30The pain was so intense he couldn't think straight.
12:33His hands were shaking uncontrollably from shock and blood loss.
12:38But he'd done it.
12:39120 soldiers from Company I had been pinned in that valley.
12:44Without his assault, they would have been slaughtered by artillery within the hour.
12:48Now they were moving.
12:49Now they were fighting.
12:50Now they had a chance.
12:53Dunham sat down in the snow and waited for the medics to reach him.
12:56He didn't think he was going to die.
12:58Not today.
13:00The medics reached Dunham 8 minutes after he sat down.
13:04They cut away the blood-soaked mattress cover and opened his field jacket to assess the wound.
13:09The bullet had carved a gash 10 inches long and 2 inches deep across his back, running from
13:15his left shoulder blade down toward his spine.
13:18The medics could see muscle tissue and exposed bone.
13:21They packed the wound with sulfa powder and wrapped it with compression bandages.
13:25Then they gave him a shot of morphine and tagged him for evacuation.
13:30Dunham refused to leave.
13:31He walked back down the hill with Company I, carrying his empty carbine.
13:36By the time they reached the battalion aid station at 1,800 hours, he'd lost enough blood that he
13:41collapsed at the entrance.
13:43The battalion surgeon examined him and immediately ordered him to the rear for surgery.
13:47The wound needed stitches, debridement, and at least two weeks of recovery before he could
13:53return to combat operations.
13:55Dunham spent four days at the division clearing station.
13:58The surgeons cleaned the wound and closed it with 43 stitches.
14:02They told him the bullet had missed his spinal cord by less than 2 inches.
14:06If the angle had been slightly different, he would have been paralyzed from the waist down.
14:11If the gash had been one inch deeper, it would have severed his spine completely.
14:15But the wound was clean.
14:17No major nerve damage.
14:19No infection.
14:20He would heal.
14:21On January 13th, five days after the assault on Hill 616, Dunham was released from the clearing
14:28station and sent to a rest area 20 miles behind the front lines.
14:32The 3rd Infantry Division had been fighting continuously since landing in southern France in August 1944.
14:38The division had pushed through the Vosges Mountains, fought through Strasbourg, and was
14:43now engaged in Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive on the western front.
14:48The casualties had been catastrophic.
14:51In December alone, the division had lost 863 men killed and 3,200 wounded.
14:57Every rifle company was operating at 60% strength.
15:01The replacement pipeline couldn't keep up with the losses.
15:04Men were being pushed back into combat before their wounds fully healed,
15:08because there was nobody else to fill the line.
15:10Dunham's wound was still seeping through the bandages.
15:13The stitches pulled every time he moved.
15:16The doctors had told him he needed three more weeks of recovery before returning to duty.
15:20But on January 18th, 10 days after Hill 616, he walked into the Company Eye command post
15:27and reported for duty.
15:29His wound wasn't healed.
15:30The stitches were still in.
15:31But 2nd Platoon was down to 18 men, and they needed every rifle they could get.
15:37The Company commander looked at Dunham's medical file, looked at Dunham, and assigned him back
15:42to his squad.
15:43No questions asked.
15:44They were moving north to Holtzweir, a small town 15 miles from the German border.
15:49Intelligence reported heavy German armor in the area.
15:52Panzer units from the 19th Army were conducting spoiling attacks to delay the American advance.
15:57Company Eye would be holding a defensive position on the southern edge of town.
16:02Dunham rejoined his platoon on January 20th.
16:05His brother Ralph was still with 2nd Squad, still carrying the same Browning automatic rifle
16:10he'd used since North Africa.
16:12They didn't talk about Hill 616.
16:14There was nothing to say.
16:15Everyone in the company knew what had happened.
16:18General Patch himself had visited the battalion on January 16th and asked to meet Dunham.
16:23The general had shaken his hand and said his actions had saved the lives of 120 men who
16:29would have been killed by artillery if the machine guns hadn't been eliminated.
16:32But that was Hill 616.
16:34This was Holtzweir.
16:36Different fight, different stakes.
16:38The 3rd Infantry Division was exhausted, understrength, and facing German armor with
16:43limited anti-tank support.
16:45Every position they held was temporary.
16:48Every defensive line was one breakthrough away from collapse.
16:51And on the morning of January 22nd, 1945, 2nd Platoon would find itself surrounded by
16:58German tanks with nowhere to run.
17:01Dunham's war was about to get significantly worse.
17:05At 0600 on January 22nd, 1945, German tanks appeared on three sides of Company I's position
17:13in Holtzweir.
17:14Dunham counted seven Panther tanks and three Tiger I's moving through the morning fog.
17:19Their engines growling like rolling thunder across the frozen fields.
17:24The 3rd Infantry Division had no armor support in this sector.
17:28No tank destroyers.
17:29No artillery within range.
17:312nd Platoon had two bazooka teams and exactly 14 rockets between them.
17:36The German attack came from the 19th Army's Armored Reserve.
17:40Units that had been held back during Operation Nordwind and were now being committed to cut off
17:45the American salient pushing toward the Rhine.
17:48The Panthers came in from the west, advancing in a staggered line across the open farmland.
17:53The Tigers moved up from the south, their 88mm guns already traversing to engage any targets
18:00that showed movement.
18:01Company I's position was indefensible.
18:03They held a cluster of farm buildings on the southern edge of Holtzweir with no cover, no concealment,
18:10and no way to stop 7-ton tanks with frontal armor 8 inches thick.
18:14The bazooka teams fired their rockets at maximum range.
18:18Two hit.
18:19Both bounced off the Panthers' glacis plate without penetrating.
18:22The Germans didn't even slow down.
18:24At 0630, the company commander gave the order to surrender.
18:28White flags went up from three buildings.
18:30The German tanks stopped advancing and infantry moved forward to take prisoners.
18:36147 men from Company I walked out with their hands up.
18:40The Germans disarmed them, searched them, and formed them into columns for transport to POW camps in the rear.
18:47Dunham didn't surrender.
18:48He slipped out the back of the farmhouse while the Germans were processing prisoners
18:52and ran west through a line of bare trees toward a cluster of outbuildings 200 yards away.
18:58His back wound had reopened during the night.
19:00He could feel blood seeping through the bandages under his uniform,
19:03but he wasn't going to spend the rest of the war in a prisoner camp.
19:07He reached the outbuildings without being spotted.
19:10There were three structures, a small barn, a tool shed,
19:14and a stone storage building with a wooden door hanging off its hinges.
19:18Dunham checked the barn first.
19:20Empty, except for rotting hay.
19:22The shed had nothing but broken farm equipment.
19:26The storage building had barrels.
19:29Six wooden barrels stood against the far wall,
19:31each one about four feet tall and three feet in diameter.
19:36Dunham lifted the lid off the first barrel.
19:38Potatoes, frozen solid.
19:41Second barrel, empty.
19:44Third barrel, sauerkraut.
19:46The fermented cabbage filled the barrel to within six inches of the top,
19:51and the smell hit him like a physical force.
19:54It was overwhelming, acidic, strong enough to water his eyes.
19:59Dunham looked back toward the farmhouse.
20:01German soldiers were moving through the area now,
20:04checking buildings, searching for stragglers.
20:07He could hear voices shouting in German, boots crunching on frozen ground.
20:12They'd be here in minutes.
20:13He climbed into the sauerkraut barrel.
20:16The cabbage was cold and slimy,
20:19and packed tight enough that he had to force his way down into it.
20:22He sank up to his chest, then his neck,
20:26then pulled the wooden lid over his head,
20:28and settled into the fermented mass.
20:30The smell was suffocating.
20:33The brine soaked through his uniform,
20:35and into the open wound on his back.
20:37The sting was excruciating,
20:40like acid poured directly into raw tissue.
20:42He bit down on his tongue to keep from screaming.
20:46He could hear the Germans entering the storage building,
20:49boots on stone floor,
20:51voices discussing something in rapid German.
20:54The sound of barrels being kicked,
20:56lids being lifted.
20:58They were checking every container.
21:00Dunham held his breath,
21:02and pressed himself deeper into the sauerkraut.
21:05The lid above him stayed closed.
21:07The Germans moved through the building,
21:09checked the other barrels,
21:11and left.
21:12Dunham stayed in the barrel.
21:14He didn't move.
21:16He barely breathed.
21:17The temperature was dropping.
21:19Night was coming.
21:20And he had no idea if the Germans would be back.
21:26Dunham spent 13 hours in the sauerkraut barrel.
21:29The temperature dropped to 8 degrees Fahrenheit after sunset.
21:32The brine froze into slush around his body.
21:35He couldn't feel his hands or feet.
21:38The wound on his back had gone numb from the cold,
21:40and the acidic burn of the fermented cabbage.
21:43Every hour, he would shift his weight slightly to keep blood flowing,
21:47but the movement sent fresh waves of brine into the gash across his spine.
21:51At 0700 on January 23rd, the sun came up.
21:56Dunham could see thin strips of light through gaps in the wooden barrel lid.
22:00He listened.
22:01No voices.
22:02No engine noise.
22:04No boots on frozen ground.
22:06The Germans had moved on.
22:08He waited another 30 minutes to be certain,
22:11then slowly pushed the lid off and climbed out of the barrel.
22:14His uniform was soaked through with sauerkraut brine and frozen stiff.
22:19His fingers were white from frostbite.
22:22The bandages on his back had dissolved completely,
22:25leaving the wound exposed.
22:26He could smell the sauerkraut on himself from 10 feet away,
22:30but he was alive and he was free.
22:33He moved to the door of the storage building and looked out.
22:36The farmyard was empty.
22:38The German tanks had pulled back during the night.
22:41Company I's position was abandoned,
22:43except for equipment the Germans hadn't bothered to collect.
22:46Dunham could see American helmets and rifles scattered in the dirt.
22:50He needed to move.
22:51He needed to get back to American lines before the Germans returned.
22:55But first, he needed to urinate.
22:58Thirteen hours in a barrel without moving had left him in agony.
23:02He stepped out of the storage building,
23:04moved around the corner to the side of the barn,
23:06and relieved himself against the stone wall.
23:09That's when the two German soldiers appeared.
23:12They came around the opposite corner of the barn at a walking pace,
23:15talking to each other in low voices.
23:18They saw Dunham immediately.
23:20Both raised their rifles and started shouting in German.
23:23Dunham raised his hands.
23:25He had no weapon visible.
23:27His carbine was still in the sauerkraut barrel.
23:29He was soaking wet, covered in fermented cabbage,
23:32and obviously unarmed.
23:34The Germans approached carefully.
23:36The first soldier kept his rifle trained on Dunham,
23:39while the second moved forward to search him.
23:41The German patted down his field jacket,
23:44checking pockets.
23:45He found a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes
23:47in Dunham's left breast pocket,
23:49and held them up.
23:50The other German immediately lowered his rifle,
23:53and reached for the cigarettes.
23:55Both soldiers started arguing.
23:57The first one who'd found them claimed ownership.
23:59The second one said they should split them.
24:02They argued for 30 seconds.
24:04Both focused entirely on the cigarettes.
24:06Neither one finished searching Dunham.
24:09Neither one checked his right side.
24:11Neither one noticed the Colt M1911 pistol
24:14in a leather shoulder holster
24:16tucked under his right arm beneath his field jacket.
24:19The Germans finally agreed to share the cigarettes,
24:22split the pack,
24:23and gestured for Dunham to start walking.
24:25They marched him back to the main road,
24:27where a German Kubelwagon sat idling,
24:30its driver waiting behind the wheel.
24:32The two soldiers pushed Dunham into the back seat,
24:35and climbed in on either side of him.
24:37The driver put the vehicle in gear,
24:39and headed east toward German lines.
24:41Dunham sat between his captors,
24:43hands on his knees,
24:44and said nothing.
24:46They drove for 40 minutes
24:47through frozen farmland and small villages.
24:50At 1100 hours,
24:51the driver pulled off the main road,
24:53and stopped in front of a stone chateau
24:55that had been converted into a German command post.
24:58The driver said something in German,
25:00and climbed out of the vehicle.
25:02He walked toward the chateau entrance,
25:04and disappeared inside,
25:06leaving the engine running.
25:07The guard on Dunham's left
25:09lit one of the lucky strikes,
25:11and stared out the window.
25:12The guard on his right
25:13leaned back in his seat,
25:15and closed his eyes.
25:16Neither one was watching Dunham anymore.
25:19He reached under his jacket,
25:20pulled the Colt from its holster,
25:22turned to his right,
25:23and shot the guard in the head
25:25at point-blank range.
25:26The guard on his left started to turn.
25:29Dunham shot him twice in the chest.
25:30Then he kicked open the door,
25:32jumped out of the Kubelwagon,
25:34and ran for the tree line
25:35300 yards to the north.
25:39Dunham ran.
25:40Behind him,
25:41he heard shouting from the chateau,
25:43then gunfire.
25:44Bullet snapped past his head,
25:46and kicked up frozen dirt at his feet.
25:48He didn't look back.
25:49He reached the tree line
25:50and kept running,
25:52crashing through bare branches
25:53and frozen underbrush.
25:54The Germans fired for another 30 seconds,
25:57then stopped.
25:58They weren't pursuing.
25:59They had prisoners to guard,
26:01and a command post to secure.
26:03One escaped American
26:04wasn't worth a squad-level manhunt.
26:06But Dunham was alone,
26:07in German-held territory,
26:09with no map,
26:10no compass,
26:11no food,
26:12and a pistol
26:13with four rounds remaining.
26:14The wound on his back
26:16had reopened during the run.
26:17He could feel blood
26:18soaking through his uniform again.
26:20His feet were already numb
26:21from frostbite
26:22after 13 hours
26:24in the sauerkraut barrel.
26:25The temperature was
26:269 degrees Fahrenheit
26:27and dropping.
26:28He was 30 miles behind enemy lines
26:31with no clear route
26:32back to American positions.
26:33He moved west.
26:35That was the only direction
26:36that made sense.
26:38West toward the front.
26:39West toward the sound of artillery.
26:41West toward anything
26:42that wasn't German.
26:44He walked through the afternoon,
26:45staying in tree lines and ditches,
26:47avoiding roads and villages.
26:49Every 20 minutes
26:50he had to stop
26:51and force his frozen feet
26:53to keep moving.
26:54The pain in his back
26:55was constant now,
26:56a grinding ache
26:58that radiated through
26:58his entire torso
26:59with every step.
27:01At nightfall,
27:02he found a destroyed barn
27:03and crawled into
27:04what remained of the hayloft.
27:06He couldn't risk a fire.
27:07The Germans had patrols everywhere.
27:09He pulled dried hay
27:11over himself for insulation
27:12and tried to sleep.
27:13The temperature dropped
27:15to 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
27:16His uniform was still damp
27:18from the sauerkraut brine.
27:19The moisture froze solid
27:21against his skin.
27:22He shivered so violently
27:24that his teeth cracked together
27:25and cut his tongue.
27:26On the second day,
27:28he kept moving west.
27:29He crossed frozen fields
27:31and empty roads.
27:32He saw German vehicles twice
27:34and hid both times
27:35until they passed.
27:36His feet had gone from numb
27:37to burning agony.
27:39When he pulled off his boots
27:41that night to check them,
27:42he saw that his toes
27:43had turned black.
27:45Second degree frostbite.
27:47Possibly third.
27:48He put his boots back on
27:50and kept walking.
27:51If he stopped moving,
27:53he would freeze to death.
27:54On the third day,
27:56January 25th,
27:58he heard American artillery.
28:00The sound came from the west,
28:02a steady rumble
28:03of 155mm howitzers
28:06firing in battery.
28:07He followed the sound.
28:09By mid-afternoon,
28:10he could see smoke
28:11from American positions
28:13rising above the tree line.
28:14He was close.
28:16Maybe 5 miles.
28:17Maybe less.
28:19At 1600 hours,
28:21Dunham emerged
28:22from a stand of trees
28:23and saw the ill river.
28:24A steel bridge
28:26crossed the water,
28:26and on the far side,
28:28American engineers
28:29were working
28:30to reinforce the structure
28:31with timber supports.
28:33Dunham started walking
28:35toward them.
28:35The engineers saw him coming
28:37and raised their rifles.
28:39He was wearing
28:40a German-issue field jacket
28:42he'd taken from
28:43a destroyed supply truck
28:44the previous day.
28:45He looked like the enemy.
28:47Dunham raised his hands
28:49and shouted
28:49that he was American.
28:51The engineers
28:52kept their rifles
28:53trained on him.
28:54He shouted his name,
28:55his rank,
28:56his unit.
28:57One of the engineers
28:58lowered his weapon
28:59and waved him forward.
29:01Dunham crossed the bridge,
29:03barely able to walk now.
29:04His feet were destroyed.
29:06His back was infected.
29:08He'd lost 20 pounds
29:10in three days.
29:11He collapsed
29:12at the far end
29:13of the bridge.
29:14A medic appeared.
29:16Dunham recognized him,
29:17Corporal Henderson
29:18from the battalion aid station.
29:20Henderson looked
29:21at Dunham's feet,
29:23looked at the wound
29:23on his back,
29:24and immediately called
29:26for a stretcher.
29:27They loaded Dunham
29:28onto a truck
29:29and drove him
29:30to the division
29:30clearing station.
29:31The surgeons there
29:32worked for six hours
29:34to save his feet
29:35from amputation.
29:36They cleaned
29:37the infected wound
29:37on his back
29:38and started him
29:39on sulfa drugs
29:40to fight the infection.
29:42Three days later,
29:43while Dunham was recovering
29:44in a hospital bed,
29:45a lieutenant
29:46from division headquarters
29:47walked into the ward
29:48and told him
29:49that his company commander
29:50had submitted
29:51a recommendation
29:52for the distinguished
29:53service cross.
29:54But the regimental commander
29:55had changed it
29:56and the division commander
29:57had approved it.
29:59Technical Sergeant
30:00Russell Dunham
30:01was being awarded
30:02the Medal of Honor
30:03for his actions
30:03on Hill 616.
30:06On April 23rd, 1945,
30:10Technical Sergeant
30:10Russell Dunham
30:11stood at attention
30:12in Zeppelin Stadium
30:13in Nuremberg, Germany.
30:15The stadium had been
30:16the site of Nazi party rallies
30:17before the war.
30:19Now it was rubble
30:20and broken concrete,
30:21occupied by American forces.
30:24Lieutenant General
30:25Alexander Patch,
30:26commander of the 7th Army,
30:28stood before him
30:28holding the Medal of Honor.
30:30Patch read the citation
30:31aloud.
30:32The crawl uphill 616,
30:35the three machine gun nests,
30:36the 10-inch wound,
30:38the German grenade
30:39kicked aside,
30:40nine enemies killed,
30:42seven wounded,
30:43two captured,
30:44175 rounds of carbine ammunition,
30:4811 grenades expended,
30:49and 120 American soldiers
30:52saved from certain death.
30:54Then, Patch placed the medal
30:56around Dunham's neck
30:57and said something
30:58that wasn't in the official citation.
31:00He said that in 30 years
31:02of military service,
31:03he had never seen
31:05a single soldier
31:06turn the tide
31:06of an entire engagement
31:08through sheer courage
31:09and refusal to stop.
31:11He said that Russell Dunham
31:12had fought like 10 men
31:14that day,
31:15and every man
31:16who walked off Hill 616 alive
31:18owed his life
31:19to one sergeant
31:20with a mattress cover
31:21and a dozen grenades.
31:23Dunham stood silent.
31:24His brother, Ralph,
31:25was in the audience,
31:26along with 40 men
31:28from Company I
31:28who had survived
31:29the Alsace campaign.
31:31The war in Europe
31:32would end in two weeks.
31:34The 3rd Infantry Division
31:35had fought from North Africa
31:37to Sicily
31:38to Italy
31:38to France
31:39to Germany.
31:40They had lost
31:4111,300 men
31:43killed and wounded.
31:44They had earned
31:4536 medals of honor,
31:47more than any other division
31:48in the war.
31:49But on that day
31:50in Nuremberg,
31:52only Russell Dunham
31:53stood on the platform.
31:54The medics
31:55had saved his feet.
31:56The infection
31:57in his back wound
31:58had cleared
31:58after three weeks
31:59of sulfa treatment.
32:00The stitches had come out.
32:02The wound had healed
32:03into a thick scar
32:04that ran 10 inches
32:05across his spine.
32:07He would carry shrapnel
32:08in his back
32:08for the rest of his life,
32:10small fragments
32:11too deep to remove
32:12without risking paralysis.
32:14After the ceremony,
32:16Dunham returned
32:16to the United States.
32:17He was 25 years old.
32:19He had enlisted
32:21in August 1940
32:22with his brother Ralph
32:23because work was scarce
32:24during the Depression
32:25and the Army paid
32:26$30 a month.
32:28He had survived
32:29four amphibious landings,
32:31seven major campaigns,
32:32and two escape attempts
32:34from German capture.
32:35He had killed
32:36at least 19 enemy soldiers
32:38that could be confirmed.
32:39He had been wounded
32:40three times.
32:41He went home to Illinois.
32:43He married a woman
32:44named Mary
32:45and worked as a benefits counselor
32:47for the Veterans Administration
32:48in St. Louis
32:49for 32 years.
32:51He helped returning veterans
32:52navigate the system,
32:54file claims,
32:55access medical care.
32:56He attended
32:57Medal of Honor conventions
32:58and reunions
32:59with the 3rd Infantry Division.
33:01He never talked much
33:02about the war
33:03unless someone asked directly,
33:04and when they did,
33:06he always said
33:06the same thing.
33:08He said he was
33:08just doing his job.
33:10He said any man
33:11in Company I
33:12would have done the same.
33:13Russell Dunham died
33:14in his sleep
33:15on April 6, 2009,
33:17at his home
33:18in Godfrey, Illinois.
33:19He was 89 years old.
33:21His brother Ralph
33:22had died 10 years earlier.
33:24Most of the men
33:25from Company I
33:26were gone.
33:27The war that had
33:28consumed their youth
33:29was now ancient history
33:30to most Americans.
33:32But the Medal of Honor
33:33citation remained.
33:34The official record remained.
33:36And 120 men
33:38who should have died
33:39on Hill 616
33:40in January 1945
33:42had lived instead.
33:44If this story moved you
33:45the way it moved us,
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33:56We're rescuing
33:57forgotten stories
33:57from dusty archives
33:59every single day.
34:00Stories about sergeants
34:01who saved lives
34:02with mattress covers
34:03and grenades.
34:04Real people.
34:05Real heroism.
34:07Drop a comment right now
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34:08where you're watching from.
34:09Are you watching
34:10from the United States?
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34:29Russell Dunham
34:30doesn't disappear into silence.
34:32These men deserve
34:33to be remembered.
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