134th Infantry Regiment Website
"All Hell Can't Stop Us"
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134th Infantry Regiment Website"All Hell Can't Stop Us" |
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Ernest Carl Pugh, son of John Wesley and Maud (Dixon) Pugh, was born March 27, 1922 in Cumberland, Tennessee. He married Lela Belle Keyes on July 5, 1941. He registered for the draft June 30, 1942. At the time he was living in Crossville, Tennessee and working at the Pugh Brothers Coal Mine in Crossville. He was inducted into the Army July 16, 1943 and served as a Rifleman in Company E, 137th Infantry Regiment. He landed at Omaha Beach, Normandy France July 8, 1944 and was killed in action July 12, 1944 during the battle for St Lo, France. He was awarded a Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action during the battle in which he died. He is buried at Pugh Cemetery #2, Crossville, Tennessee.
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Silver Star Medal Citation |
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Private First Class Ernest C Pugh, 34880358, Infantry, United States Army, for gallantry in action in the * * * , sector, Normandy, France, 12 July 1944. Private Pugh, a rifleman, was a member of a squad assigned the mission of covering the withdrawal of two platoons which had encountered flanking machine gun fire while advancing down a sunken road. After the platoons had successfully withdrawn, Private Pugh volunteered to cover the withdrawal of his own squad. As the last element of his squad withdrew, enemy infantrymen rushed his position. He succeeded in killing three of the enemy before he himself was killed. The gallant actions of Private Pugh, whose self-sacrifice enabled his comrades to withdraw from a precarious position, reflect the highest credit upon his character as a soldier and upon the military service. Entered military service from Tennessee. General Orders No 39, Headquarters 35th Infantry Division, 2 October 1944 |
