Kimbro Truman was a 22-year-old newly married Texan when he was drafted in 1941 for WWII.
A combat engineer assigned to the
@2INFDIV, he landed at Omaha Beach with the D Day invasion.
He was a squad leader 77 years ago during the #BattleOfTheBulge
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Tuesday, December 19, 1944 - Things are looking grim.
Kimrbo's unit is in the crossroads town of Rocherath, Belgium. The Americans are outnumbered & outgunned by the new German Tiger II tanks.
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Kimbro's unit was tasked with mining a N-S road to allow an element from the US 106th Division to retreat south. [📷: pillbox just outside the southern tip of the road]
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Finding that the area was covered by German dismounts, Kimbro left his men in a protected position while he crawled forward alone.
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He quickly came under heavy enemy fire. He continued moving forward.
Twice hit with direct fire, badly wounded, bleeding out, he continued moving forward.
He lays four mines and begins crawling back to his position, leaving a sweep of bloody road behind him.
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Finally, 700 meters from his defensive position, he was killed by a German machine gun.
Before dying, he laid a mine network that delayed the German advance and allowed two companies from the US 106th Division to retreat.
[END]
Kimbro rests alongside thousands of Americans killed in the Battle in the American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
He is among 20 American Soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for acts of valor during the Battle of the Bulge.
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