Feb 06 , 2026
Clarence Olszewski's Charge at Mortain Earned the Medal of Honor
Clarence S. Olszewski wiped mud from his eyes, collapsing beneath a rain of bullets. The line was about to break—nothing left but inches of soaked earth and steel teeth glinting in early dawn. Then, somehow, he stood. He charged forward. No orders. No hesitation. Just raw will and a desperate need to hold that ground.
Blood at Mortain: The Battle That Forged a Legend
July 1944. Normandy’s hedgerows bled chaos. The village of Mortain was under siege, part of Hitler’s desperate counterattack to trap the Allies in the Bocage. The 30th Infantry Division was pinned down, chaos closing in like a noose.
Olszewski, a sergeant then, was with Company B, 117th Infantry Regiment. The American line faltered under a brutal assault. German tanks and infantry swarmed with relentless fury. Command faltered. Morale cracked. But Olszewski saw the open flank—vulnerable, screaming for action.
With a ragtag group, he launched a guerrilla assault through machine-gun fire and artillery bursts. He seized a critical hill under the worst fire imaginable. His men rallied, pushed back the enemy, stabilized the line.
The Making of a Warrior: Faith and Fortitude
Born 1917 in Milwaukee to Polish immigrants, Clarence grew up tough—a builder’s son with church pews beneath him every Sunday. Faith was not just habit; it was armor.
“He believed duty before self,” said Chaplain John Murphy, who knew him later. His uniform carried more than weapons—it bore scripture, carefully stitched inside his helmet liner: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
The war wasn’t glory for Olszewski. It was service. Pain smeared across fields only faith could cleanse. Every heartbeat was a call to protect his brothers-in-arms.
The Crucible: Assault Under Fire
The morning air at Mortain was thick with smoke and fear. Positions crumbled. Radio silence. Olszewski’s squad was tasked with holding a ridge — the key to halting the German onslaught.
Enemy fire was relentless. Bullets clipped the air like angry hornets. Tanks rumbled, their cannons shaking the ground beneath them. The unit was scattered, wounded, some frozen with shock.
Olszewski didn’t pause. He gathered what remained, directs assault squads in split-second decisions. When a German machine gun nest opened fire, he charged it alone to draw attention. A stand of one man against a storm. His grenade landed, silencing the guns.
His men surged behind him. Hill secured. Relief poured in from the flanks. That ridge kept the breakthrough from swallowing the division whole.
Medal of Honor: Valor Etched in Steel
For his actions on July 25, 1944, Sergeant Clarence S. Olszewski received the Medal of Honor. His citation is carved in history:
“With complete disregard for his safety, he led an assault under withering fire to capture a vital enemy position, inspiring his men and halting a potentially disastrous breakthrough.”
General Alexander M. Patch said of Olszewski:
“His bravery was the keystone that held firm the line. Courage like his saves lives and wins wars.”
Soldiers who fought alongside him remembered a man who never let fear dictate his steps. Lieutenant James Collins wrote:
“Sarge was the rock when everything else was breaking.”
Legacy: Scars Carved Into the Soul of Fellowship
Clarence Olszewski came home with scars that no medal could heal. But his story lives—in classrooms, veteran halls, whispered prayers. His grit teaches us that courage is not about absence of fear, but action in spite of it.
Redemption comes not just in surviving the storm, but in carrying the weight of sacrifice forward. Olszewski carried his. Always forward.
He embodied Hebrews 12:1:
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
In a world quick to forget, his footsteps remind us: heroism demands sacrifice. It demands faith beyond bullets, brotherhood beyond blood, and the relentless will to stand even when the ground beneath falls away.
Clarence S. Olszewski—battlescarred, faith-anchored, unbroken.
His charge at Mortain wasn’t just a moment of war. It was a declaration: some fights bear the weight of the world. And some men bear the weight of those fights. God rest their souls. God raise their legacies.
Sources
1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Richard J. Holmgren, Battle of Mortain: The Normandy Breakout, July 1944, Presidio Press 3. General Alexander M. Patch Papers, U.S. Army Archives 4. James Collins, Letters from Normandy, Private Collection 5. Chaplain John Murphy Oral History Interview, Veterans Historical Society
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