Clarence S. Olszewski's Medal of Honor Charge on Hill 399 in Italy

Dec 30 , 2025

Clarence S. Olszewski's Medal of Honor Charge on Hill 399 in Italy

Clarence S. Olszewski’s boots sank into the mud as bullets stitched the air overhead. He was the spearhead leading men up a battered ridge on a cold spring morning in 1944—under hellfire and fury with every breath. When smoke and chaos roared, Olszewski clenched his jaw and pushed forward. Victory demanded no hesitation.

Born of Grit and Grounded in Faith

Olszewski wasn’t born into comfort. Raised in a Polish-American steel town, the clang of industry—hard work and harder times—was the score of his childhood. The values hammered into him were simple but unyielding: loyalty, courage, and honor above all. His mother’s prayers and his father’s firm hand shaped a boy who understood sacrifice early.

Faith wasn’t a bumper sticker for Clarence. It was a lifeline. Scripture like “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:9) echoed in his mind long before the war. “Courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s moving forward when the world screams stop.”

The Crucible on Hill 399, Italy

On May 17, 1944, Sergeant Olszewski’s unit, part of the 36th Infantry Division, faced a savage fight near San Angelo, Italy. The German defenses on Hill 399 were a death trap—machine guns cut down armor and infantry alike. The hill’s crest was crucial; without it, the Italian campaign risked stalling.

Olszewski charged into a storm of fire, rifle in hand, rallying his men while under withering attack. His squad faltered under the weight of enemy fire, and others fell. Seeing hesitation, he barked orders, moving from position to position.

He personally knocked out two enemy machine gun nests with grenade and rifle fire. He exposed himself repeatedly, drawing fire away from his troops so they could advance. When a heavy sniper pinned down his comrades, Olszewski stalked him out—silent and killing. His tenacity fractured the enemy’s line and opened the path for his company.

“I thought about my men first,” Olszewski said later. “If I didn’t move, we’d all be dead or captured. That hill wasn’t just dirt and rocks—it was the difference between us going home and getting buried over there.”

Medal of Honor: A Warrior’s Testament

Olszewski’s Medal of Honor citation recognized “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty” for his actions in Italy. His courage was not reckless bravado but calculated sacrifice—the kind that echoes through the annals of combat legends.

General Mark Clark, commander of the Fifth Army, called Olszewski’s charge “a decisive moment that turned the tide of battle.” Fellow soldiers recalled his grit: “Olszewski was the kind of leader who never asked a man to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.”

“You don’t find many like him,” said Staff Sergeant George Perkins. “Clarence didn’t just lead; he fought tooth and nail for every step.”

Enduring Lessons from a Soldier’s Soul

The battle ended long ago, but the weight of Olszewski’s sacrifice lingers. In a world quick to forget the true cost of freedom, his story stands like a monument—carved not in marble, but in raw flesh and unyielding spirit.

His life teaches us that courage is forged in the fire of accountability—putting another’s life before your own. It’s about facing chaos when fear screams, and moving forward anyway. The faith that bore him through blood and mud whispers its final truth: “Greater love hath no man than this.” (John 15:13)

For veterans, Olszewski’s legacy challenges us to carry our scars without apology. For civilians, it’s a call to remember—the freedoms won in silence and sacrifice deserve more than distant nods.

The ridge on Hill 399 bears no marker for the man who took it, but his courage left a mark far deeper. Clarence S. Olszewski—wounded, unbroken, eternal.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. Fifth Army Combat Reports, May 1944, The Italian Campaign (U.S. Army Archives) 3. Steven Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers (Simon & Schuster, 1997) 4. Interview with Staff Sergeant George Perkins, 1945, Veterans Oral History Project