President Carter called then-retired Lt. Col. Matt Urban “The Greatest Soldier in American History” as he presented the Medal of Honor to Urban in 1980. The Nazis called Urban “The Ghost” because he just seemed to keep coming back to life whenever they thought they had killed him. During a German counterattack, Urban killed an enemy soldier with his trench knife, took the man’s machine pistol, and wiped out the rest of the incoming Germans. On June 14, 1944, two tanks and German infantry began raking Urban’s men in the hedgerows, causing heavy casualties. The next day, still wounded, Urban led his troops on another attack.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 22, 2020 15:56 UTC