Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), 351st Infantry Regiment
HEADQUARTERS 351ST INFANTRY UNITED STATES ARMY, APO 88, 23 May 1945
SUBJECT: Recommendation for Award of Distinguished Service Cross.
TO: Commanding General, 88th Infantry Division, APO 88, U.S. Army.
1. Under the provisions of paragraph 20, AR 600-45, it is recommended that JOHN F. EBEL, 0-1999136, First Lieutenant, Infantry, 351st Infantry Regiment, be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action on 25 April 1945 in the vicinity of Verena, Italy.
2. On 25 April 1945 the First Platoon of Company E, 351st Infantry Regiment, attacked northwards from its bridgehead north of the Po towards Verona. JOHN F. EBEL, 0-1999136, First Lieutenant (then Second Lieutenant) Infantry, 351st Infantry Regiment, was the Platoon Leader of these fighting men. He directed the men vigorously across the flat, well developed terrain of the Po Valley and quickly overcame scattered resistance. At 0930 hours in the vicinity of Tartar Creek a German machine gun in a barn to the right of the road opened fire on his column. Directing his men to cover him by rifle and automatic rifle fire, Lieutenant EBEL rushed seventy-five yards across the flat, fire-swept terrain. He broke in the door of the barn and mortally wounded a German officer manning the machine gun.
With this menace removed Lieutenant EBEL quickly assembled his men and led them relentlessly forward. About 1000 hours the spirits of his soldiers were considerably brightened with the arrival of four American tank destroyers and an armored reconnaissance car, which they mounted in order to increase the speed of their advance. One or two brisk engagements took place on his right flank but Lieutenant EBEL continued to push aggressively forward. He led his platoon into Nogara at 1200 hours where his men surprised and captured forty Germans without a fight.
At 1230 hours the platoon attacked north from Nogara, still mounted on armored vehicles. One kilometer north of town the task force encountered strong anti-tank and automatic weapons fire which forced his soldiers to dismount and seek protection in a road side ditch. When he observed that the armored reconnaissance car was in flames as a result of a direct hit, Lieutenant EBEL ran to it and dragged three seriously wounded men to safety, although he was exposed to savage machine gun fire, 20 automatic cannon fire and fragments of the exploding ammunition in the vehicle. Upon receiving an order to encircle the resistance around the left flank, Lieutenant EBEL moved his men south along the ditch to a railroad bank, turned left four hundred yards and immediately initiated a lively attack northward along a creek bed.
Controlling his men by hand and arm signals, Lieutenant EBEL moved his squads by bounds to within a hundred yards of four German machine guns. Intense automatic fire wounded the Company Commander and two enlisted men and forced his men to seek protection. Lieutenant EBEL immediately contacted the tank-destroyers by radio, adjusted their supporting fire, and led his man forward in an all-out assault, exhorting them to close with the enemy. Following his example and inspired by his utter fearlessness under fire they stormed the positions, killed eight enemy soldiers and captured fifteen more.
After herding his prisoners to the road and leaving them under guard Lieutenant EBEL again mounted his troops on the remaining armored vehicles and continued his prisoners to the road and leaving them under guard Lieutenant EL again mounted his troops on the remaining armored vehicles and continued the aggressive pursuit. At Pellegrino, five miles north of Nogara, the task force encountered a road block defended by one twenty milimeter cannon and two machine guns, which forced the men to dismount again. Leaving one squad to take up a brisk fire fight with the enemy, Lieutenant EBEL led his two assault squads around the right flank where he co-ordinated tank-destroyer support by radio and personally led the attack into the town from the east.
Throughout the twenty minutes of bitter close-in fighting Lieutenant EBEL moved among his men, directed their fire and encouraged them in their efforts, where they killed two Germans, wounded eight and captured the 20mm gun with it's six-man crew. At Isola Descola Lieutenant EBEL led his men in a frontal attack against a German road block position where his platoon killed five Germans, captured twelve and destroyed an armored half-track with hand grenades.
Still pushing aggressively forward without relief, Lieutenant EBEL and his men encountered an extremely strong road block at Buttapietra at about 1630 hours. Ordering his men to follow him, Lieutenant EBEL led them around the right flank of the town and as they approached it's outskirts he went forward alone to reconnoiter. Lieutenant EBEL rounded the corner of a building, encountered a Garman sentry a few yards away, and immediately dropped him with a butt stroke which knocked the guard unconscious. By the time his men reached him Lieutenant EBEL had captured twelve Germans in a house right behind two 88mm guns loaded and trained on the road.
Lieutenant EBEL then led his men through the town in a sharp, savage fight in which they killed eighteen and captured thirty-five more Germans. At 1700 hours he received an order from the Division Commander by liaison plane, urging complete exploitation of his remarkable break through. Lieutenant EBEL. led his first platoon in a vicious attack at Ca David. He captured the town and two 20mm canon in only ten minutes of fighting and he led his men forward without bothering to count the crowd of German prisoners they had captured.
Lieutenant EBEL gathered his tired and weary men and exhorted them to continue their amazing attack and explained to them the importance of seizing Verona without delay. He Led his platoon into the outskirts of the city just as night was falling after a grueling attack of thirty-seven miles in twelve and a half hours. Lieutenant EBEL opened the battle in the city by killing a German officer who resisted capture. A few minutes later, while interrogating a group of twenty-five prisoners, Lieutenant EBEL was attacked from the rear by an armed German, and in the ensuing struggle he killed this enemy soldier with his carbine.
Quickly organizing his small force, now depleted by casualties and men left behind as prisoner guards, Lieutenant EBEL divided his men into five groups to establish road blocks and to patrol actively the streets of the city. At 2300 hours when a force of Germans attacked his main road block Lieutenant EBEL personally conducted the fire fight and as soon as he sensed that his force had fire superiority he led his men forward in all-out hand-to-hand fighting and himself killed two more Germans in the ensuing struggle.
In this single day of vicious fighting Lieutenant EBEL so inspired his men with his personal leadership and utter fearlessness that they killed over a hundred enemy soldiers and captured in excess of five hundred, By his conspicuous valor, magnificent fighting spirit and determination to overwhelm the enemy, Lieutenant EBEL brough new glory to the fighting history of his division.
Text: General Order, DSC Recommendation. Provided by family of John Ebel.
Photo: Provided by family of John Ebel.
Note: Paragraph breaks were added for readability.
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