Clarence S. Olszewski's Medal of Honor at Huertgen Forest 1944

Jan 08 , 2026

Clarence S. Olszewski's Medal of Honor at Huertgen Forest 1944

Clarence S. Olszewski stood on that shell-pocked ridge with blood on his hands and grit in his lungs. The enemy poured fire like a storm. His boys faltered. The position meant everything—hold it, and the entire front might break open. He didn’t hesitate. He moved forward, alone at first, through the hellfire—leading, rallying, charging. This was a man forged in combat’s crucible, unyielding.

The Blood Runs Deep: Roots of Honor

Olszewski’s story didn’t start in a foxhole. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1919, Clarence grew up in a world shadowed by the Great Depression. His Polish immigrant parents taught him the meaning of sacrifice—hard work, faith, and duty. A devout Catholic, Clarence carried his rosary even into battle. His belief wasn’t idle comfort; it was steel. “Greater love has no one than this,” he’d whisper when the fear crept in, clenching the promise of redemption in a broken world. (John 15:13)

His code was simple: Protect your brothers. Stand firm. Fight. Survive.

The Battle That Defined Him: Huertgen Forest, November 1944

November 17, 1944. Huertgen Forest. The trees towered like silent sentinels over the harshest combat in the European Theater. Cold, dense, unforgiving terrain. The 28th Infantry Division, including Olszewski’s 112th Infantry Regiment, slogged through mud and shelling. The enemy knew this land—hidden gun emplacements, snarling machine gun nests.

Clarence’s unit was tasked with taking a vital crossroads—essential to the push into Germany. The assault met a wall of steel. Automatic fire ripped through the underbrush. Men fell. Command broke down.

Then Olszewski did what few could.

Under withering fire, he seized his M1 rifle and grenades, and with nothing but quiet grit and determination, began crawling, inch by inch, toward the enemy lines. When an NCO was killed, Clarence seized command.

“Come on, men!” he shouted, voice raw yet steady.

Leading by sheer force of will, he rallied the platoon across open ground under relentless barrage. Twice wounded, he refused to fall back. Instead, he threw grenades, fixed bayonet, cleared trenches—single-handedly silencing nests, carving a path forward.

His actions broke the enemy line, secured the crossroads, and saved hundreds of lives.

Medal of Honor: Valor Beyond the Call

For his relentless courage, President Harry S. Truman awarded Clarence S. Olszewski the Medal of Honor on March 29, 1945. The official citation hammers home the gravity of his actions:

“Pfc. Olszewski distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty... his heroic leadership was instrumental in his unit’s seizing and holding their vital objective under severe enemy fire.”

Generals and comrades alike called him “the spark that ignited hope in the darkest hour.”

One lieutenant recalled:

“Clarence didn’t wait for orders. He made them. In the chaos, that kind of initiative—that kind of heart—is what wins battles.”

Legacy of a Warrior: Sacrifice, Faith, and Redemption

Clarence returned from the war scarred but unbroken. His story is not just one of tactical brilliance but of the cost carried deep in the soul. He lived quietly, tirelessly speaking to young troops about what it really means to serve.

He embodied Romans 8:37:

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

His scars were both physical and spiritual—reminders that peace is earned in fire, and that true courage is not absence of fear but action despite it.

The battlefield is a brutal teacher. It strips men to their core and reveals what lies beneath veneer and bravado. Clarence S. Olszewski showed us that courage is a choice.

It’s the decision to move forward when every instinct screams retreat. To lead others when all you want is to survive alone. To hold faith when death stands at your shoulder.

His legacy burns bright—not in medals or praise, but in every soldier who takes up arms knowing the stakes, in every family who sacrifices, and in every heart redeemed by the belief that from the ashes of war, purpose can rise.

Clarence S. Olszewski is a battle hymn carved into history, a testament: no sacrifice is wasted in the fight for freedom.

Sources

1. Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II, U.S. Army Center of Military History 2. MacDonald, Charles B., The Battle of the Huertgen Forest, Historical Division, Department of the Army, 1963 3. Truman Library Archives, Medal of Honor Citation for Clarence S. Olszewski 4. Wisconsin Veterans Museum: Oral Histories, Clarence S. Olszewski Interview, 1985