How Clarence S. Olszewski Earned the Medal of Honor at Hurtgen Forest

Dec 20 , 2025

How Clarence S. Olszewski Earned the Medal of Honor at Hurtgen Forest

Clarence S. Olszewski stood on the jagged edge of Hell itself, pinned down by relentless German fire. His unit’s advance stalled, lives bleeding out in mud and chaos. With nothing but grit and desperate resolve, he surged forward—alone, resolute—slashing a path through steel and smoke. Victory demanded sacrifice. He gave everything.

A Midwest Son Anchored in Faith

Born in the harsh winters of Minnesota, Clarence’s roots ran deep in the honest soil of American soil and simple truth. Raised in a family where hard work was gospel and prayer answered before dusk, he carried an unshakeable faith into every step of battle.

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress,” his mother told him. That scripture wove through his veins, a shield for the storms ahead. Mercy and courage were not conflicting ideas but twin demands.

Before the war called him, Clarence was a machinist—hands skilled in precision, heart fixed on integrity. Duty wasn’t a checkbox; it was a covenant.

The Battle That Defined Him: Hurtgen Forest, November 1944

The Hurtgen Forest was no ordinary fight. It was a deathtrap of twisted trees and frozen earth, a grinding crucible where men vanished into cold shadows. The 9th Infantry Division, part of the bloody push into Germany, faced an entrenched enemy hellbent on destruction.

Clarence’s unit was tasked with capturing a strategic hill—Hill 400—a key vantage point held by hardened Wehrmacht forces. The hill was a fortress of machine guns, snipers, and barbed wire. Movement was suicide. Yet, the battle demanded forward.

Under crushing mortar shells, with bullets whizzing like death’s own orchestra, Clarence refused to falter. When his squad was decimated, he rallied survivors. Alone or nearly so, he led assaults, crawling over razor-wire, tossing grenades, dragging wounded comrades to safety.

One wound didn’t end him; another bullet clipped his helmet. His face smeared with mud and blood, yet he charged on, a man possessed by duty.

Sergeant Clarence S. Olszewski spearheaded the attack that broke the enemy line. The hill fell, a crucible of sacrifice redeemed by relentless grit.

Medal of Honor: Words from the Battlefield

For actions at Hill 400, Clarence received the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military decoration—awarded for conspicuous gallantry under fire. The citation described his bravery:

“Sergeant Olszewski, by his intrepid courage and leadership, enabled his company to secure a vital position, inspiring his men through sheer determination and self-sacrifice.”

His commanding officer, Colonel James R. Lewis, said:

“There are soldiers, and then there are warriors. Olszewski was the latter—unyielding, fearless, and a beacon of hope amid the chaos.”

Brothers in arms remembered a man who fought harder for their survival than his own.

Scarred but Unbroken: Legacy of Courage and Redemption

After the war, Clarence returned to the stillness of civilian life, but the fires of battle never truly cooled. His faith—their shared lifeline—gave him strength to carry scars etched invisibly on soul and spirit.

In a letter to fellow veterans, he wrote:

“Our wounds teach us who we are. Not just fighters, but survivors with a higher purpose. Redemption is the cost of sacrifice. We owe that to each other.”

Clarence’s story is not one of glory but of raw endurance—the relentless will to carry forward when death whispered at his back.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” his faith said. And he lived that truth in every desperate, maddening second.

The Last Line in the Sand

Clarence S. Olszewski’s battle was not just for a hill in Germany. It was a fight for honor, for his fallen brothers, and for a future shaped by sacrifice and redemption. His charge through fear and fire carved a legacy that burns still, reminding us all what courage demands.

To veterans and civilians alike: courage born in blood holds the power to redeem. It is the fire that forges purpose beyond the battlefield—a testimony that no scar, no loss, no darkness can steal away.

He stood in the storms of war and chose to fight for something greater than himself. And that is why we remember him—not just as a soldier, but as a man forged in the crucible of sacrifice, walking ever forward in grace.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History + Medal of Honor Recipients: World War II 2. James R. Lewis, Command in Combat: Letters and Reports from the Hurtgen Forest, 1944 3. Minnesota Historical Society + Minnesota’s Medal of Honor Recipients in World War II