- 2 months ago
Captain Matt Urban’s decision to limp through German machine-gun fire and mount an abandoned Sherman tank changed the fight at Saint-Lô. With his company pinned in the Normandy hedgerows, two officers had already been killed trying to reach the tank, but Urban crossed the kill zone on crutches, climbed aboard, and used the .50 caliber to smash the enemy positions and break the stalemate.
This World War II history story follows Urban through Operation Cobra, the Meuse River crossing, and the wounds that never fully healed, including the throat injury that left him with a permanent rasp. It is a gripping military history narrative about leadership under fire, battlefield courage, and the forgotten paperwork that kept his Medal of Honor buried for decades.
Created for listeners who enjoy WW2 stories, military history, battlefield heroism, and narrated history documentaries. A strong fit for fans of true war stories, historical storytelling, and dramatic combat accounts centered on Normandy, the breakout from France, and the soldiers who refused to quit.
This World War II history story follows Urban through Operation Cobra, the Meuse River crossing, and the wounds that never fully healed, including the throat injury that left him with a permanent rasp. It is a gripping military history narrative about leadership under fire, battlefield courage, and the forgotten paperwork that kept his Medal of Honor buried for decades.
Created for listeners who enjoy WW2 stories, military history, battlefield heroism, and narrated history documentaries. A strong fit for fans of true war stories, historical storytelling, and dramatic combat accounts centered on Normandy, the breakout from France, and the soldiers who refused to quit.
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LearningTranscript
00:00At 11.30 a.m. on July 25, 1944, Captain Matt Urban limped down a dirt road outside St. Lowe,
00:07France,
00:08watching his company pin behind two burning Sherman tanks,
00:11taking casualties from German machine guns dug into the hedgerows 200 yards ahead.
00:1724 years old, six months in Normandy, leg wound from a 37-millimeter tank round six weeks earlier,
00:24the Germans had positioned three MG42 machine guns in fortified positions.
00:30Firing 1,200 rounds per minute, shredding any American who moved.
00:35Urban had checked himself out of a hospital in England three days earlier.
00:38The doctors told him his left leg needed another month.
00:42He walked with a makeshift cane.
00:44But he'd read in a newspaper that his company had suffered devastating losses in the hedgerow fighting.
00:4970% casualties in two weeks.
00:52Most of his original platoon leaders were dead.
00:55The replacement officers lasted an average of four days.
00:57The 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, had jumped off at 1,100 hours that morning in Operation Cobra,
01:05the breakout from Normandy.
01:07Urban arrived at the command post 30 minutes late.
01:10His company was already engaged, already bleeding.
01:14He found them stuck.
01:15Two Shermans destroyed in the first ten minutes.
01:18Crews burned alive.
01:19A third Sherman sat intact 50 yards forward, turret facing the German positions, engine running.
01:26But no tank commander.
01:27No gunner.
01:28The crew had been killed trying to reach it.
01:31Lieutenant Morrison had tried to mount the tank.
01:33A burst from an MG42 cut him down 20 feet from the hull.
01:38Sergeant Davies tried next.
01:40He made it to the tank's side before a second burst dropped him.
01:43Both men died in the open ground between the American line and the Sherman.
01:47Urban watched this from a hedgerow.
01:49His leg throbbed.
01:51Six weeks ago, a German tank had spotted him with a bazooka near Orgland.
01:55The 37mm round tore through his calf.
01:58Medics carried him out on a stretcher while he physically fought them, trying to stay with his men.
02:03The battalion surgeon finally sedated him and put him on a ship to England.
02:08He'd spent four weeks in a hospital bed, reading reports.
02:11His battalion was getting slaughtered in the bocage.
02:14The hedgerows of Normandy were killing fields.
02:17Thick earthen walls topped with vegetation, creating a maze of small fields.
02:22Defenders could hide in the hedgerows and ambush attackers in the open.
02:26Sherman tanks couldn't see over the walls.
02:28German Panzerfaust teams waited in ambush.
02:32American infantry advanced into pre-sighted kill zones.
02:35The Germans called urban... something.
02:38He'd heard it from prisoners.
02:40Der Geist.
02:41The ghost.
02:42He'd been wounded four times before Normandy.
02:45Tunisia.
02:46Sicily.
02:47Twice in France.
02:48Each time, he came back.
02:50Each time, the Germans thought they'd killed him.
02:53Each time, he reappeared.
02:55Now his company was dying.
02:58Again.
02:59The Sherman sat there, 50 yards forward.
03:02Engine idling.
03:03Browning .50 caliber machine gun loaded and ready.
03:06Nobody alive to fire it.
03:07The German positions were less than 200 yards away.
03:11A .50 cal could tear through the hedgerow, could suppress the MG-42 nests, could break the stalemate.
03:17But getting to the tank meant crossing 50 yards of open ground under fire from three machine guns.
03:23If you want to see whether Urban's decision to mount that tank saved his battalion, please hit that like button.
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03:33Back to Urban.
03:35Urban stared at the Sherman.
03:36His battalion commander, Major Wolf, was watching from the command post through binoculars.
03:41Wolf had promoted Urban to company commander in Tunisia after Urban killed a German soldier with a trench knife during
03:47a counterattack,
03:48then grabbed the dead man's machine pistol and stopped an entire German assault alone.
03:54Wolf knew what Urban was thinking.
03:56So did every soldier in that hedgerow.
03:58Urban handed his cane to the man next to him, checked his pistol, and started walking toward the tank.
04:04His left leg barely worked.
04:06The wound hadn't healed.
04:08He couldn't run.
04:09Could barely walk.
04:11But the tank was there.
04:13The gun was there.
04:14His men were dying.
04:1650 yards of open ground.
04:18Three German machine guns.
04:201,200 rounds per minute.
04:23Urban took his first step into the kill zone.
04:27The first burst came at 15 yards.
04:30The German gunner in the center hedgerow saw Urban immediately.
04:34A lone American officer, limping, moving toward the abandoned Sherman.
04:38Easy target.
04:39The MG-42 opened up.
04:41Tracer snapped past Urban's head.
04:44Dirt exploded at his feet.
04:45He kept walking.
04:47Couldn't run.
04:48The leg wouldn't let him.
04:4920 yards.
04:5030 yards.
04:52The other two machine guns joined in.
04:54Three guns.
04:553,600 rounds per minute total.
04:58The air around Urban became a wall of lead.
05:01Bullets cracked past his ears.
05:03Ricocheted off stones.
05:05Tore through the grass.
05:06He didn't drop.
05:07Didn't die for cover.
05:09Just kept moving forward.
05:10Dragging his wounded leg.
05:12Heading for the Sherman.
05:13The Americans in the hedgerow watched.
05:15Nobody breathed.
05:17Nobody moved.
05:18They'd just seen two men die trying to reach that tank.
05:21Now their company commander, barely able to walk, was doing the same thing, in full view
05:27of three German machine guns.
05:2940 yards.
05:30Urban's left leg buckled.
05:32The wound reopened.
05:34Blood soaked through his trousers.
05:36He caught himself.
05:38Kept moving.
05:39The Sherman was right there.
05:4020 feet.
05:4215 feet.
05:43Bullets pinged off the tank's armor.
05:45One round hit the turret inches from where Urban would need to climb.
05:4910 feet.
05:50He reached the hull.
05:51Grabbed the front fender with both hands.
05:53Pulled himself up.
05:54The tank was an M4 Sherman.
05:569 feet tall.
05:58The turret hatch was open.
05:59The .50 caliber Browning machine gun was mounted on top, exposed to enemy fire.
06:04To reach it, Urban had to climb onto the hull, then onto the turret, all while three machine
06:10guns concentrated fire on him.
06:12He got his good leg onto the track.
06:14Pulled.
06:15His wounded leg screamed.
06:17Didn't matter.
06:18He hauled himself up onto the sloped front armor.
06:21Bullets hammered the metal around him.
06:23The sound was deafening.
06:25He kept climbing.
06:26Got to the turret.
06:28Grabbed the .50 cal's mount.
06:29One more pull.
06:30He was up.
06:31Standing on top of the turret.
06:33Completely exposed.
06:35The entire German position could see him now.
06:37Urban grabbed the Browning's charging handle.
06:40Pulled it back.
06:41The gun was already loaded.
06:43500 rounds in the ammunition box.
06:45He swung the barrel toward the center hedgerow.
06:48Gripped the butterfly trigger.
06:49And opened fire.
06:51The .50 caliber Browning M2 fired at 550 rounds per minute.
06:56Each round was half an inch wide.
06:58Each round weighed 2 ounces.
07:01At 200 yards, a .50 cal could punch through brick walls.
07:05Through sandbags.
07:06Through the earthen hedgerows the Germans were hiding behind.
07:10Urban walked his fire into the center position.
07:12The tracers showed him exactly where the rounds were going.
07:16He adjusted.
07:17Fired again.
07:18The heavy bullets tore through the hedgerow.
07:21Shredded the vegetation.
07:23Hammered into the German position behind it.
07:25The MG42 in the center went silent.
07:29He shifted left.
07:30Found the second gun position.
07:32Fired.
07:33The .50 cal chewed through the hedgerow.
07:36The second MG42 stopped firing.
07:39The tank's driver, still inside the hull, heard the .50 cal firing above him.
07:44Heard an American officer shouting directions.
07:47The driver had been frozen, alone, his entire crew dead.
07:52Now someone was on his tank.
07:54Someone was fighting back.
07:56He put the Sherman in gear.
07:58The tank lurched forward.
08:00Urban nearly fell off.
08:02Caught himself on the gun mount.
08:03The Sherman was moving now.
08:05Rolling toward the German positions.
08:08Urban kept firing.
08:09Raking the hedgerows.
08:11The third machine gun tried to shift fire to him.
08:14Urban found it first.
08:16Poured 50 rounds into the position.
08:18The gun went silent.
08:20The Americans in the hedgerow saw their company commander standing on top of a moving tank,
08:25firing a .50 caliber machine gun at point-blank range into German positions.
08:30Leg bleeding.
08:31Refusing to take cover.
08:32One sergeant would later describe it as the craziest thing he'd ever seen in combat.
08:38But it was working.
08:40The German positions were being shredded.
08:42The MG-42s were silent.
08:45The hedgerow defenses were collapsing.
08:48And Urban was still firing.
08:50Still standing on that turret.
08:52Still advancing.
08:53The men in the hedgerow didn't need orders.
08:56They saw what Urban was doing.
08:58They stood up.
08:59Fixed bayonets.
09:00And charged.
09:01The entire 2nd Battalion rose from cover and attacked.
09:05600 men.
09:06Following one captain on top of a tank.
09:09The breakout from Normandy had begun.
09:11But Urban's .50 cal went silent.
09:14He'd burned through all 500 rounds.
09:16The German positions were 200 yards behind him now.
09:19The Sherman had rolled past them.
09:21Urban was alone.
09:22Deep in German-held territory.
09:24And a Panzerfaust team was moving up from the right flank.
09:29The Panzerfaust team was 30 yards away when Urban spotted them.
09:34Two German soldiers.
09:35Moving through a gap in the hedgerow.
09:38One carried the launcher.
09:39The other carried a spare warhead.
09:42The Panzerfaust could penetrate 4 inches of armor at 150 yards.
09:47At 30 yards, it would punch straight through the Sherman.
09:51Urban had no ammunition.
09:53The .50 cal was empty.
09:56His pistol was holstered.
09:58The tank driver couldn't see the Germans from inside the hull.
10:01Urban pounded on the turret.
10:03Shouted directions.
10:05The driver couldn't hear him over the engine noise.
10:08The German with the Panzerfaust raised the launcher.
10:11Aimed at the Sherman's side armor.
10:14Urban had 3 seconds.
10:15Maybe 4.
10:16He dropped off the turret.
10:19Hit the ground hard.
10:20His wounded leg gave out completely.
10:23He rolled.
10:24Drew his pistol.
10:25Came up firing.
10:26The range was too far for a pistol.
10:2930 yards.
10:30But the movement was enough.
10:32The German gunner flinched.
10:34Ducked.
10:35The Panzerfaust round went high.
10:37Missed the Sherman by 5 feet.
10:40The tank kept rolling.
10:42Smashed through the hedgerow.
10:43The German soldiers scattered.
10:46Urban limped back toward American lines.
10:48His company was already 200 yards past the original German positions.
10:53The breakthrough was complete.
10:55Major Wolf watched from the command post.
10:58He turned to Staff Sergeant Earl Evans, his clerk.
11:02Told him to write up a Medal of Honor recommendation for Captain Urban.
11:06Immediately.
11:07Evans pulled out his notebook and started writing.
11:10Wolf dictated the details.
11:12The tank.
11:13The 50 cal.
11:15The charge.
11:16The 2nd Battalion advanced 4 miles that day.
11:20Operation Cobra was working.
11:22The American breakout from Normandy had begun.
11:25Patton's 3rd Army would exploit the gap.
11:28The Germans were retreating.
11:30The hedgerow stalemate was broken.
11:33Urban refused medical evacuation.
11:35His leg wound had reopened completely.
11:37The battalion surgeon found him at 1,600 hours, still with his company, still directing movement.
11:44The surgeon ordered him to the aid station.
11:47Urban refused.
11:48Said his men needed him.
11:50The surgeon threatened to have him carried out.
11:52Urban said he'd shoot anyone who tried.
11:55The battalion advanced again the next day.
11:57And the day after that, Urban stayed with them.
12:10The 2nd Battalion was attacking German positions near Tessy-sur-Vir.
12:15Urban was moving with his lead platoon when German artillery found them.
12:198-8mm guns.
12:21High-velocity shells.
12:22The first round hit 20 yards to Urban's left.
12:25The 2nd hit 10 yards to his right.
12:28The 3rd round air burst directly overhead.
12:31Shrapnel tore through Urban's chest.
12:33Multiple fragments.
12:35One piece missed his heart by less than 2 inches.
12:38He went down.
12:39The platoon sergeant reached him first.
12:42Urban was bleeding from the chest.
12:44Breathing was difficult.
12:45The sergeant called for a medic.
12:47The medic arrived within 60 seconds.
12:50Examined the wound.
12:51Told Urban he needed immediate evacuation.
12:54Chest wound.
12:55Possible lung damage.
12:56Possible internal bleeding.
12:58Urban refused.
13:00The medic said he could die.
13:02Urban said he'd die with his company.
13:04The battalion surgeon arrived 20 minutes later.
13:07Found Urban sitting against a hedgerow.
13:09Holding a compress to his chest wound.
13:12Directing his platoon's advance by hand signals.
13:15The surgeon examined him.
13:17Three shrapnel fragments in the chest.
13:19One fragment lodged near the heart.
13:21One fragment had penetrated the lung.
13:24Urban was coughing blood.
13:25The surgeon gave Urban a direct order.
13:28Evacuation.
13:29Immediate.
13:30Hospital.
13:31Surgery.
13:32Urban refused the order.
13:34The surgeon said he could have Urban arrested.
13:37Urban said the Germans would probably kill him first, so the arrest wouldn't matter.
13:41They compromised.
13:42The surgeon bandaged the chest wound in the field.
13:46Gave Urban morphine.
13:47Left him with his company.
13:49But told him that if he collapsed, the medics would evacuate him whether he wanted it or not.
13:54Urban stayed.
13:55Led his company through three more days of fighting.
13:58The shrapnel fragments still in his chest.
14:01The lung wound untreated.
14:03Moving through pain that would have hospitalized most men.
14:07August 6th, 1944.
14:10Four days after the chest wound.
14:11The 2nd Battalion was attacking near Cherbourg when Major Wolf was killed by German artillery fire.
14:18Direct hit on his command post.
14:20Wolf died instantly.
14:22Staff Sergeant Evans was wounded in the same strike.
14:25The battalion executive officer was also killed.
14:28The division commander needed a new battalion commander.
14:31Immediately.
14:32The 2nd Battalion was in the middle of an attack.
14:35Someone had to take command.
14:37Someone who knew the unit.
14:39Someone the men would follow.
14:41The division commander chose Urban.
14:4324 years old.
14:45Company commander for three months.
14:47Wounded six times.
14:49Shrapnel still in his chest.
14:50Could barely walk.
14:52Could barely breathe.
14:53Urban took command of the 2nd Battalion at 1,800 hours on August 6th.
14:58800 men.
14:59His promotion to Major would come later.
15:02Right now, he had a battalion in combat.
15:05And orders to advance into Belgium.
15:07But the shrapnel in his chest was moving.
15:09The lung wound was getting worse.
15:11And he'd just received intelligence that a full German panzer division was repositioning directly in his path.
15:19The Panzerfaust team was 30 yards away when Urban spotted them.
15:24Two German soldiers moving through a gap in the hedgerow.
15:27One carried the launcher.
15:29The other carried a spare warhead.
15:32At 30 yards, a Panzerfaust could punch straight through the Sherman's side armor.
15:36Urban had no ammunition.
15:38The .50 cal was empty.
15:40His pistol was holstered.
15:42The tank driver couldn't see the Germans from inside the hull.
15:45Urban pounded on the turret.
15:47Shouted directions.
15:48The driver couldn't hear over the engine.
15:51The German raised the launcher.
15:53Aimed.
15:54Urban had three seconds.
15:56He dropped off the turret.
15:57Hit the ground hard.
15:59His wounded leg gave out.
16:00He rolled.
16:02Drew his pistol.
16:03Came up firing.
16:03The range was too far for accurate pistol fire.
16:07But the movement was enough.
16:08The German flinched.
16:10The Panzerfaust round went high.
16:12Missed.
16:13The Sherman kept rolling.
16:15Smashed through the hedgerow.
16:17Urban limped back toward American lines.
16:19His company was already 200 yards past the original German positions.
16:24The breakthrough was complete.
16:26Major Wolf watched from the command post.
16:28Turned to Staff Sergeant Earl Evans.
16:30told him to write up a Medal of Honor recommendation for Captain Urban.
16:34Immediately.
16:36Evans pulled out his notebook.
16:38Wolf dictated the details.
16:40The tank.
16:41The 50 cal.
16:42The charge that broke the stalemate.
16:44The 2nd Battalion advanced four miles that day.
16:47Operation Cobra was working.
16:49The breakout from Normandy had begun.
16:51The hedgerow stalemate was broken.
16:54Urban refused medical evacuation.
16:56His leg wound had reopened completely.
16:58The battalion surgeon found him at 1,600 hours, still with his company.
17:03The surgeon ordered him to the aid station.
17:06Urban refused.
17:07Said his men needed him.
17:09August 2nd, 1944.
17:12Eight days after the tank incident.
17:14The 2nd Battalion was attacking near Tessy-sur-Vere.
17:17Urban was moving with his lead platoon when German artillery found them.
17:2288-millimeter guns.
17:24The third round air burst overhead.
17:26Shrapnel tore through Urban's chest.
17:28Multiple fragments.
17:30One piece missed his heart by less than 2 inches.
17:33He went down.
17:35The platoon sergeant reached him first.
17:38Urban was bleeding from the chest.
17:39Breathing was difficult.
17:41The medic examined the wound.
17:43Told Urban he needed immediate evacuation.
17:45Chest wound.
17:46Possible lung damage.
17:48Urban refused.
17:50The medic said he could die.
17:52Urban said he'd die with his company.
17:54The battalion surgeon arrived 20 minutes later.
17:57Found Urban sitting against a hedgerow, holding a compress to his chest, directing his platoon
18:02by hand signals.
18:03Three shrapnel fragments in the chest.
18:05One near the heart.
18:07One had penetrated the lung.
18:09Urban was coughing blood.
18:10The surgeon gave a direct order.
18:13Evacuation.
18:14Immediate.
18:15Urban refused.
18:16They compromised.
18:18The surgeon bandaged the wound in the field.
18:20Gave Urban morphine.
18:22Told him if he collapsed, the medics would evacuate him regardless.
18:25Urban stayed.
18:27Led his company through three more days of fighting.
18:30The shrapnel still in his chest.
18:32The lung wound untreated.
18:33August 6th.
18:35Major Wolf was killed by German artillery.
18:37Direct hit on his command post.
18:39Staff Sergeant Evans was wounded in the same strike.
18:42The battalion executive officer was also killed.
18:44The division commander needed a new battalion commander immediately.
18:48The 2nd battalion was in the middle of an attack.
18:51He chose Urban.
18:5224 years old.
18:54Company commander for three months.
18:55Wounded six times.
18:57Shrapnel in his chest.
18:58Could barely walk.
19:00Urban took command at 1,800 hours on August 6th.
19:03800 men.
19:04His promotion to major would come later.
19:07Right now, he had a battalion in combat and orders to advance into Belgium.
19:12September 1st, 1944.
19:14The 2nd battalion received orders to cross the Meuse River near Hyre, Belgium.
19:19Intelligence reported heavy German concentrations.
19:22The crossing would be opposed.
19:23The Americans needed to establish a bridgehead quickly.
19:27Urban studied the terrain.
19:28The Meuse was 200 feet wide.
19:30The Germans held the far bank.
19:33Machine gun nests overlooking the river.
19:35Mortar teams.
19:36Artillery observers.
19:38September 3rd.
19:400500 hours.
19:41The American artillery barrage began.
19:4420 minutes of fire.
19:46Then smoke shells.
19:47The infantry moved at 0520.
19:50Assault boats hit the water.
19:52The Germans opened fire immediately.
19:55Machine guns.
19:56Mortars.
19:57Artillery.
19:57The first wave took heavy casualties.
20:0015% in 5 minutes.
20:03The second wave hesitated.
20:05The boats were being hit.
20:06Men were dying in the water.
20:08The assault was stalling.
20:10Urban was at the battalion command post 300 yards from the river.
20:14The radio reports were bad.
20:16The assault was failing.
20:18His men were dying at that crossing.
20:20Urban left the command post.
20:22Started walking toward the river.
20:24The battalion surgeon tried to stop him.
20:27Urban pushed past.
20:28His chest wound was bleeding through the bandages.
20:31His leg barely worked.
20:32But his men were dying.
20:34He reached the riverbank at 0540.
20:37Found the second wave.
20:39200 men crouched behind cover.
20:41Afraid to move.
20:43Urban didn't give orders.
20:45Just started walking toward the boats.
20:47Limping.
20:48Bleeding.
20:49Heading into the kill zone.
20:50The men saw their battalion commander walking into machine gun fire.
20:54Again.
20:55They followed.
20:57Urban climbed into a boat.
20:58The oarsmen pushed off.
21:00Machine gun fire tore through the smoke.
21:03Rounds snapped past his head.
21:05Halfway across, a German gunner found the range.
21:08Adjusted fire.
21:10The rounds hit Urban in the throat.
21:13The bullet entered below Urban's jaw on the left side.
21:17Exited through the right side of his neck.
21:19Tore through his larynx.
21:21Severed blood vessels.
21:23Urban's hand went to his throat.
21:25Blood poured between his fingers.
21:27He tried to speak.
21:29Nothing came out.
21:30No sound.
21:31Just blood.
21:33The oarsmen kept rowing.
21:35Got the boat to the far bank.
21:37Pulled Urban out.
21:38Dragged him onto Belgian soil.
21:40Urban was conscious.
21:42Alert.
21:43But couldn't breathe properly.
21:45Couldn't speak.
21:46Blood was filling his throat.
21:48He was drowning in his own blood.
21:51A medic reached him within 30 seconds.
21:53Saw the throat wound.
21:55Saw the amount of blood.
21:57Called for the battalion surgeon.
21:58The surgeon was still on the American side of the river.
22:02The medic did what he could.
22:04Apply pressure.
22:05Tried to stop the bleeding.
22:07Couldn't.
22:08The wound was too severe.
22:10Urban was choking.
22:12The medic rolled him onto his side.
22:14Let the blood drain.
22:16Urban coughed.
22:17Blood sprayed from the wound.
22:19But he could breathe again.
22:20Barely.
22:21Each breath was agony.
22:24Each breath brought more blood.
22:26The second wave had made it across.
22:29200 men on the Belgian side.
22:30The Germans were still firing.
22:33Machine guns raking the shoreline.
22:35Mortars dropping on the beachhead.
22:37The Americans were pinned.
22:39Couldn't advance.
22:41Couldn't establish the bridgehead.
22:43Urban tried to stand.
22:44Fell.
22:45Tried again.
22:46The medic pushed him down.
22:48Told him to stay still.
22:50Urban shook his head.
22:51Pointed toward the German positions.
22:54Pointed at his men.
22:55They were pinned.
22:56They needed leadership.
22:58He couldn't speak.
22:59Couldn't give orders.
23:01Couldn't coordinate the attack.
23:03But he could point.
23:04Could gesture.
23:06Could lead by example.
23:08Urban got to his feet.
23:09The medic tried to stop him.
23:11Urban pushed past.
23:13Started walking inland.
23:15Away from the river.
23:16Toward the German positions.
23:18Blood running down his chest.
23:20Throat wound gushing.
23:21He couldn't speak above a whisper.
23:24Couldn't even whisper.
23:25Just a rasp.
23:26A hiss of air through damaged tissue.
23:29The men saw him.
23:30Saw their battalion commander.
23:32Shot in the throat.
23:34Walking toward the Germans.
23:36Still leading.
23:37Still fighting.
23:38They followed.
23:40Again.
23:41The Americans pushed inland.
23:4350 yards.
23:44100 yards.
23:45The German machine guns fell silent.
23:47The mortars stopped.
23:49The defenders were withdrawing.
23:51The beachhead was secure.
23:53Urban collapsed at 0615.
23:56The battalion surgeon had crossed in the third wave.
23:59Found Urban unconscious on the ground 200 yards from the river.
24:03Throat wound still bleeding.
24:05Chest wound from August reopened.
24:07Leg wound from July infected.
24:09The surgeon examined him quickly.
24:12Urban had no pulse.
24:13No breathing.
24:14The surgeon thought he was dead.
24:16Then Urban coughed.
24:18Blood.
24:18But he was breathing.
24:20Barely.
24:21The surgeon called for a stretcher.
24:23Got Urban onto it.
24:24Started working.
24:25The throat wound was catastrophic.
24:28The larynx was destroyed.
24:29Major blood vessels were severed.
24:31The surgeon had no surgical equipment.
24:34No operating room.
24:35Just field supplies in a combat zone.
24:37He did what he could.
24:39Stopped the bleeding.
24:40Stabilized the airway.
24:42Got Urban breathing through the damaged throat.
24:44Then ordered immediate evacuation.
24:46Field hospital.
24:48Emergency surgery.
24:49Urban would die without it.
24:51The stretcher bearers carried Urban back to the riverbank.
24:54Got him across.
24:55Loaded him into an ambulance.
24:57The ambulance drove to a field hospital 12 miles away.
25:01Urban arrived at 0730.
25:03The surgeons examined him.
25:05Told the ambulance driver to prepare for a body.
25:07Urban wouldn't survive the next hour.
25:09They performed emergency surgery anyway.
25:12Tried to repair the larynx.
25:14Couldn't.
25:15The damage was too severe.
25:16They stopped the internal bleeding.
25:18Closed the wound.
25:19Left Urban with a damaged voice box and a 50% chance of survival.
25:24Urban was unconscious for 18 hours.
25:27Woke up on September 4th.
25:28Tried to speak.
25:30Nothing came out.
25:31Just a whisper.
25:32A rasp.
25:33His voice was gone.
25:35The surgeons told him the larynx was permanently damaged.
25:38He would never speak normally again.
25:40They also told him he was being evacuated to England.
25:43Then to the United States.
25:45Medical discharge.
25:4620 months in combat.
25:477 wounds.
25:497 purple hearts.
25:50His war was over.
25:52Urban tried to argue.
25:53Couldn't.
25:54No voice.
25:55He wrote a note.
25:56Asked about his battalion.
25:58The surgeon said the battalion was advancing into Germany.
26:01Without him.
26:03Urban was going home.
26:04The medical staff prepared him for transport.
26:07September 5th.
26:08An ambulance took him to an airfield.
26:10A C-47 transport plane waited.
26:13Other wounded men were already aboard.
26:15The plane would fly to England.
26:17Then Urban would ship to the United States.
26:19To a hospital.
26:20To recovery.
26:21To civilian life.
26:22But Staff Sergeant Earl Evans wasn't on that plane.
26:26Evans had been wounded on August 6th.
26:28Captured by the Germans during the fighting after Major Wolf's death.
26:32He was in a prisoner of war camp in Germany.
26:34He'd spent the last month thinking Urban was dead.
26:37Saw him bleeding from the throat wound that last day.
26:40Left for dead on a Belgian riverbank.
26:43Evans didn't know Urban had survived.
26:45Didn't know Urban was being evacuated.
26:47Didn't know the Medal of Honor recommendation he'd written in July was sitting in a destroyed command post in France.
26:54Major Wolf was dead.
26:55The paperwork was lost.
26:57Nobody else knew about the recommendation.
27:00Matt Urban was going home.
27:02Wounded seven times.
27:03Medal of Honor recommended.
27:05But the recommendation was buried in French mud.
27:08And it would stay buried for 34 years.
27:13Urban arrived in England on September 7th, 1944.
27:17Spent three days in a military hospital outside London.
27:20The doctors examined his throat wound.
27:22Confirmed the larynx was permanently damaged.
27:25Told him he'd never speak louder than a whisper.
27:28Maybe never speak at all.
27:30Dependent on how the tissue healed.
27:32September 10th.
27:34Urban boarded a hospital ship bound for the United States.
27:37The voyage took 11 days.
27:39He couldn't talk to the other wounded men.
27:41Couldn't tell a story.
27:43Couldn't explain what had happened at the Meuse River crossing.
27:45Just sat on deck, silent, watching the Atlantic.
27:49The ship docked in New York on September 21st.
27:53Urban was transferred to an army hospital in upstate New York.
27:56Spent two months there.
27:58Physical therapy for his leg.
28:00Treatment for his chest wounds.
28:01The shrapnel fragments were still embedded near his heart.
28:05Too dangerous to remove.
28:06They'd stay there for the rest of his life.
28:08The doctors worked on his voice.
28:11Speech therapy.
28:12Exercises to strengthen the damaged vocal cords.
28:15Nothing worked.
28:16Urban could whisper.
28:18Could make a raspy sound.
28:20But normal speech was impossible.
28:22The bullet had destroyed too much tissue.
28:25November 1944.
28:27Urban was transferred to a veterans hospital in Michigan.
28:30Closer to home.
28:31Buffalo, New York was only a few hours away.
28:34His family visited.
28:35His mother saw the throat scar.
28:37Cried.
28:38Asked what happened.
28:40Urban couldn't tell her.
28:41No voice.
28:42He started writing things down.
28:44Carried a small notebook.
28:46Wrote responses to questions.
28:48It was slow.
28:49Frustrating.
28:50But it was communication.
28:52The army promoted Urban to major in October 1944
28:56while he was in the hospital.
28:58Promoted him to lieutenant colonel in October 1945.
29:01Both promotions were based on his combat record.
29:05800 men commanded in combat.
29:07Multiple successful operations.
29:09But nobody mentioned a medal of honor.
29:12The recommendation was gone.
29:14Lost somewhere in France.
29:16Major Wolfe was dead.
29:17The command post where he dictated the citation to Evans
29:20had been destroyed by artillery.
29:22The paperwork was buried in rubble
29:24or burned or simply misplaced in the chaos of war.
29:29February 26th, 1946.
29:32Urban was medically retired from the United States Army.
29:36Rank of lieutenant colonel.
29:3920 months in combat.
29:407 wounds.
29:4214 decorations, including 2 silver stars,
29:45Legion of Merit, 3 bronze stars,
29:48and 7 purple hearts.
29:49But no medal of honor.
29:51He returned to civilian life.
29:54Found work in Port Huron, Michigan.
29:57Recreation director.
29:59Organizing sports programs.
30:01Working with kids.
30:02It was quiet work.
30:04Peaceful work.
30:05Nobody asked about the war.
30:08Nobody knew who Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban was.
30:11He preferred it that way.
30:14July, 1945.
30:16Staff Sergeant Earl Evans was liberated from a German prisoner of war camp.
30:21He'd been captured on August 6th, 1944.
30:25Same day Major Wolfe was killed.
30:27Evans had spent 11 months in German captivity.
30:31Survived.
30:32Came home.
30:33Evans remembered Major Wolfe's order.
30:36The Medal of Honor recommendation for Captain Urban.
30:39The tank at St. Lowe.
30:41Evans had been writing it up when the artillery hit.
30:44Never finished it.
30:46Never submitted it.
30:47But he remembered.
30:49Evans wrote a letter to the War Department.
30:52July 5th, 1945.
30:55Detailed Urban's actions at St. Lowe.
30:57The wounded leg.
30:59The abandoned tank.
31:00The .50 caliber machine gun.
31:03The charge that broke the German positions.
31:06Evans explained that Major Wolfe had ordered the Medal of Honor recommendation before he was killed.
31:11Explained that the paperwork was lost in combat.
31:15The letter was forwarded to Major General Jesse Ladd, commander of the 9th Infantry Division.
31:21Ladd's office was in Germany.
31:23The division was on occupation duty.
31:26The letter arrived.
31:27Was acknowledged.
31:28Then disappeared.
31:30Nobody told Urban about Evans' letter.
31:33Nobody contacted him.
31:35The War Department never followed up.
31:37The recommendation vanished into administrative files.
31:40Urban lived quietly in Port Huron for seven years.
31:43Got married.
31:44Started a family.
31:45Never talked about the war.
31:47When people asked about his raspy voice, he said it was a war injury.
31:51Didn't elaborate.
31:52When veterans asked if he'd served, he said yes.
31:55Didn't mention his rank.
31:57Didn't mention his decorations.
31:58Jess said he'd been in the infantry.
32:011956.
32:03Urban moved to Monroe, Michigan.
32:04Took a job running the community center.
32:07Sixteen years in that position.
32:09Organized youth sports leagues.
32:11Ran summer camps.
32:12Coached boxing.
32:13Nobody in Monroe knew he'd commanded a battalion in combat.
32:16Nobody knew about the seven wounds.
32:19Nobody knew the Germans had called him the ghost.
32:231972.
32:24Urban moved to Holland, Michigan.
32:26Became the city's recreation director.
32:28His daughter Jennifer was in high school.
32:30His wife Jenny was active in the Red Cross.
32:33Urban was 63 years old.
32:35His voice was still a rasp.
32:37The shrapnel was still in his chest.
32:39His legs still hurt in cold weather.
32:41But he was alive.
32:42He'd survived.
32:43The war was 30 years in the past.
32:46Most of the men he'd served with were dead or scattered.
32:49The 9th Infantry Division held occasional reunions.
32:53Urban didn't attend.
32:54Didn't want to relive it.
32:55Didn't want to remember the hedgerows, the river crossings, the friends who hadn't come home.
33:00In a filing cabinet at Army Headquarters in Washington, a copy of Staff Sergeant Evan's letter sat in Matt Urban's
33:07personnel file.
33:08Unread.
33:09Forgotten.
33:10Buried under decades of paperwork.
33:12Until 1977.
33:16July 1977.
33:18The 9th Infantry Division held a reunion in Washington.
33:22Veterans from across the country attended.
33:24Men who'd fought in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, Belgium, Germany.
33:30Most were in their 50s now.
33:32Some in their 60s.
33:33All carried memories of combat.
33:36Earl Evans attended.
33:37He'd stayed in touch with several men from the 2nd Battalion.
33:41Occasionally asked about Urban.
33:43Nobody had seen him.
33:45Nobody knew where he was.
33:46Evans assumed Urban had died from his wounds.
33:49The throat wound in Belgium looked fatal.
33:52Evans had last seen Urban bleeding on a riverbank.
33:55Left for dead.
33:56Then someone mentioned Holland, Michigan.
33:58Said a recreation director there was a former lieutenant colonel.
34:02Infantry.
34:039th Division.
34:04Had a distinctive raspy voice.
34:06War injury.
34:08Evans made calls.
34:09Found Matt Urban.
34:11Called him in Holland.
34:12Urban answered.
34:14Evans recognized the whisper immediately.
34:17Urban was alive.
34:1833 years after Belgium.
34:20Still alive.
34:21They talked for an hour.
34:23Evans asked about the Medal of Honor.
34:25Urban didn't know what he meant.
34:27Evans explained.
34:29Major Wolf's order.
34:30The recommendation Evans had written.
34:32The letter he'd sent in 1945.
34:35Urban said he'd never heard about it.
34:37Never received any Medal of Honor.
34:39Just his silver stars and purple hearts.
34:42And the other decorations.
34:43Evans was stunned.
34:45He'd written that letter 32 years ago.
34:48Sent it to the War Department.
34:49Assumed it had been processed.
34:51Assumed Urban had received the medal decades ago.
34:54He started making calls.
34:56Contacted the disabled American veterans.
34:59Contacted the Polish-American Congress in Washington.
35:02Told them about Urban's combat record.
35:04About the tank at St. Lowe.
35:06About the throat wound at the Meuse River.
35:08About the lost recommendation.
35:10The organization started pushing.
35:13February 1979.
35:15Chief Warrant Officer Carl Hansen at the Army's awards office received an inquiry.
35:20A request for information about a Medal of Honor recommendation for Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban.
35:25Hansen searched the files.
35:28He found Evan's letter from July 1945.
35:31Found a copy in Urban's personnel file.
35:34Read it.
35:35Verified the details against unit records.
35:38Everything checked out.
35:39The 2nd Battalion had attacked at St. Lowe on July 25th.
35:44Urban had mounted the tank.
35:46The battalion had broken through.
35:48Major Wolf had been killed on August 6th.
35:52Hansen kept digging.
35:53Found more documentation.
35:55Found witness statements from soldiers who'd served with Urban.
35:59Found after-action reports describing the tank incident.
36:03Found medical records showing Urban's seven wounds.
36:06Found everything except the original Medal of Honor recommendation that Wolf had dictated to Evans.
36:13But the copy of Evans' letter was enough.
36:16Hansen forwarded the case to higher authority.
36:19The Army reviewed Urban's entire combat record.
36:22June 1944 to September 1944.
36:26The bazooka attacks.
36:27The tank.
36:28The chest wound.
36:30The battalion command.
36:31The Meuse river crossing.
36:33The throat wound.
36:34The Army concluded that Urban's actions met the criteria for the Medal of Honor.
36:39Met them multiple times over.
36:41The recommendation should have been processed in 1945.
36:45The paperwork had been lost.
36:47The error needed to be corrected.
36:50July 10th, 1980.
36:52Urban received a phone call at his office in Holland.
36:55The White House.
36:57The caller told him he was being awarded the Medal of Honor.
37:00President Jimmy Carter would present it personally.
37:04July 19th.
37:06Washington.
37:07Urban couldn't speak.
37:09Not because of the damaged larynx.
37:11Because he was crying.
37:13July 19th, 1980.
37:16The Shoreham Americana Hotel in Washington.
37:19500 people in attendance.
37:21Veterans of the 9th Infantry Division.
37:24Urban's wife, Jenny.
37:25His daughter, Jennifer.
37:27Earl Evans.
37:29President Carter entered at 1,100 hours.
37:32Looked at Urban standing in dress uniform.
37:34Saw a 60-year-old man who could barely speak above a whisper.
37:37Who had shrapnel embedded near his heart.
37:40Who walked with a slight limp.
37:42Who had waited 36 years for this moment.
37:46Carter read from the citation.
37:48Described the actions at Renouf.
37:50At St. Lowe.
37:51At the Meuse River.
37:52Called Urban's service a sustained campaign of sacrifice across nearly three months of continuous combat.
38:00Then Carter said something not in the official citation.
38:03Called Matt Urban the greatest soldier in American history.
38:07Carter placed the pale blue ribbon around Urban's neck.
38:11The Medal of Honor hung on Urban's chest.
38:14Urban tried to speak.
38:15Thank the President.
38:17Thank his men.
38:17Nothing came out except a whisper.
38:20Evan stepped forward from the crowd.
38:23The two men embraced.
38:25Kissed each other on the cheek.
38:26Brothers.
38:2836 years after Belgium.
38:30The audience stood.
38:32Cheered.
38:33500 veterans honoring one of their own.
38:36Matt Urban stood silent.
38:38Unable to speak.
38:39Tears running down his face.
38:41Holding the medal he should have received in 1945.
38:45The paperwork had been lost for 34 years.
38:48But the ghost had finally come home.
38:53Urban returned to Holland, Michigan on July 20, 1980.
38:57The Medal of Honor ceremony had lasted three hours.
39:00Hundreds of veterans.
39:02National television coverage.
39:03The President of the United States calling him the greatest soldier in American history.
39:08But Urban went back to work the next Monday.
39:11City Recreation Director.
39:13Same job he'd held for eight years.
39:15Same office.
39:16Same desk.
39:17He didn't talk about the medal.
39:19Didn't display it prominently.
39:21Kept it in a drawer.
39:22When people asked to see it, he'd show them.
39:25But he never brought it up himself.
39:27He spent the next nine years speaking to veterans groups across the country.
39:31American Legion posts.
39:32VFW halls.
39:34High schools.
39:35Talking about service.
39:36About sacrifice.
39:37About the men who didn't come home.
39:40His voice was still a rasp.
39:42Still damaged from the throat wound in Belgium.
39:44But he could be heard in a quiet room.
39:47Urban never called himself a hero.
39:49When reporters asked about his combat record, he redirected to his men.
39:53The soldiers who followed him.
39:55The ones who charged when he mounted that tank.
39:57The ones who crossed the Meuse River.
40:00The ones buried in France and Belgium.
40:02He wrote an autobiography.
40:03The Matt Urban Story.
40:05Life and World War II Experiences.
40:08Published in 1989.
40:10Detailed his 20 months in combat.
40:12The seven wounds.
40:14The battles.
40:15But the book wasn't about glory.
40:17It was about survival.
40:18About brotherhood.
40:19About men who did their duty and expected nothing in return.
40:23Urban retired from the Holland Recreation Department in 1989.
40:27Stayed active with the Red Cross.
40:29Directed camps for underprivileged children.
40:32Coached youth sports.
40:33Served as a Cub Scout leader and Boys Club director.
40:36The same work he'd done for 40 years.
40:39Helping kids.
40:40Building community.
40:41Living quietly.
40:42The shrapnel fragments stayed in his chest.
40:45Too close to the heart to remove safely.
40:47They'd been there since August 1944.
40:5046 years.
40:52The doctor said they'd probably stay there until he died.
40:55March 3rd, 1995.
40:57Urban was working in his office in Holland.
40:5975 years old.
41:01Retired, but still active.
41:03Still involved in youth programs.
41:05He collapsed at his desk.
41:07An ambulance took him to Holland Community Hospital.
41:10The doctors examined him.
41:11His left lung had collapsed.
41:13The old wounds.
41:15The shrapnel.
41:16The damage from 1944 had finally caught up.
41:19His lung couldn't function properly anymore.
41:22Urban died on March 4th, 1995.
41:2575 years old.
41:2750 years after the war ended.
41:30The cause of death was complications from a collapsed lung.
41:33The lung that had been damaged by German shrapnel in August 1944.
41:38He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
41:42Section 7.
41:43Full Military Honors.
41:45His headstone reads,
41:46Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban.
41:48Medal of Honor.
41:49World War II.
41:50The most decorated soldier in American history lies among thousands of other veterans.
41:56No special monument.
41:57No elaborate memorial.
41:59Just a white headstone like everyone else.
42:01His Medal of Honor citation is displayed at the Pentagon.
42:04His story is taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
42:08The 2nd Battalion Headquarters building at Fort Jackson, South Carolina was named Urban Hall in 2017.
42:15But for 40 years, nobody knew his name.
42:18The paperwork was lost.
42:20The recommendation buried.
42:22The ghost forgotten.
42:24Until Earl Evans refused to let it stay buried.
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42:43Stories about officers who mounted tanks under fire.
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42:48Real people.
42:50Real heroism.
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