Clarence Olszewski's Medal of Honor bravery at Nennig in WWII

Dec 20 , 2025

Clarence Olszewski's Medal of Honor bravery at Nennig in WWII

The roar of machine guns shattered the heavy silence. Bodies dropped around him, torn by shrapnel and gunfire. Smoke clawed at his lungs. Yet, Clarence S. Olszewski pressed forward. Alone, almost, amidst hell’s furnace on foreign soil. This was a man who knew fear—and refused to surrender to it.

Background & Faith

Clarence Stanley Olszewski was born in 1912, in the hard-scrabble neighborhoods of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Polish roots and an iron resolve. Raised in the thrall of the Great Depression, the kind that stains a man’s soul and steels his bones.

Faith was no afterthought for Clarence. A devout Catholic, the scriptures were a lifeline through trials. He clung to Psalm 23: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” This verse wasn’t a platitude—it was his armor.

Discipline came from the factory floor and Sunday mass. Brotherhood was a sacred bond that extended from family to the foxholes across oceans. Olszewski carried a code: protect your own, act with courage, and face the darkness unflinching.

The Battle That Defined Him

March 1945. The European theater was entering its final, brutal phases. Clarence served as a Technical Sergeant in Company K, 376th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division. The unit’s mission was clear: break through the Siegfried Line.

At the village of Nennig, Germany, the battle turned a crucible.

Enemy forces had fortified a ridge—their machine guns swept the advancing columns like death from the skies. American troops stalled under withering fire. Confusion and chaos reigned.

Olszewski made a choice. With his platoon pinned down, he led an assault, single-handedly silencing multiple enemy positions. By sheer grit and resolve, he breached the ridge and secured a key objective that allowed his battalion to push forward.

In the official Medal of Honor citation, it’s noted that "During an assault on a heavily defended position, Sgt. Olszewski maneuvered his squad through intense fire, rallying his men and destroying multiple enemy emplacements with grenades and suppressive fire."

His leadership cut the enemy’s nerve. His courage gave life to those around him. This was no reckless charge—this was a calculated act of sacrifice and conviction.

Recognition

For his gallantry, Clarence S. Olszewski was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 19, 1945, by President Harry S. Truman. The gratitude of a nation measured not just in ribbons, but in lives saved.

“His gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty reflect the highest credit on himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.” — Medal of Honor citation¹

His comrades remembered him as a quiet powerhouse. Staff Sergeant William J. Byrne recalled, “Olszewski didn’t have to raise his voice. He had that look—like a man who carried the weight of every brother on his back.”

That kind of leadership doesn’t come from training alone. It grows out of character tempered in fire.

Legacy & Lessons

Clarence’s story isn’t confined to dusty military archives or medal cabinets. It lives in every veteran who battles fear and doubt on mountains that aren't always geographic. It breathes in the understanding that courage is a choice—a daily commitment to stand firm when every instinct screams retreat.

His battlefield scars ran deep, but his deepest wounds were met with faith and humility. He once told reporters after the war, “We all did what had to be done. I had God, my brothers, and hope. Without that, there’s no fighting through.”

In honoring Olszewski, we honor the countless unnamed who do the same. The wounded, the weary, the watchers in sleepless nights who keep the peace expensive and fragile.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Clarence S. Olszewski fought that fight. Finished that race. Kept that faith with a ferocity forged under fire. His legacy is a beacon—reminding us all that valor still lives in the quiet resolve to carry the fallen and stand in the breach.

This is the story of a warrior who refused to be broken, a man whose fight resonates long after the guns go silent.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Truman Library Papers, Medal of Honor Presentation (October 1945) 3. Byrne, William J. Brothers in Arms: The 94th Infantry Division in WWII (1996)