G.I. Joe Francis S Currey WWII Forces Medal of Honor Recipient 12" Action Figure

There is no greater honor that can be conferred upon a member of the United States military than the Medal of Honor. Its recipients have demonstrated conspicuous gallantry in the performance of their duty. Their disregard for their own personal safety has often saved the lives of their comrades, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. and turned the tide of battle. On occasion, the actions of these heroic individuals have even forced the enemy to withdraw from the field. So it was with Sergeant Francis S. Currey, U.S. Army, Company K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.

Raised in the Catskills of New York, Currey spent much of his time as a youth hunting and tracking small game, a hobby which accustomed him to the wilderness and served him well during the war. After his graduation from high school, Francis decided to join the Army. He was sworn in by the Postmaster of Hurleyville, New York and then shipped to Fort Benning, Georgia for infantry school where he underwent an intense basic training. He entered the war September, 1944 in the Netherlands.

If necessity be the father of invention, then survival is its grandfather, both of whom Francis Currey paid homage to with unbridled bravery and valor on the day of December 21, 1944...

That wintry day would prove to be a perilous one for Sergeant Currey. His 3rd Platoon was defending a position near Malmedy, Belgium when the Germans went on the offensive. Currey, an automatic rifleman, soon found that he and his platoon were facing heavy enemy armor. Despite the fact that they were not properly equipped for winter warfare, they fought on. German tanks finally forced Currey and his men to fall back to an abandoned factory. There, in the factory, Currey found a bazooka. The rockets he needed were across a heavily guarded street. Currey charged into the street under savage artillery fire from the advancing tanks and machine-gun fire from enemy infantrymen in nearby buildings. Reaching the rockets. Currey and a comrade fired a single shot to destroy a tank. He then spotted three German infantrymen in a nearby house and, using his automatic rifle, he eliminated all three. He then preceded to advance on the house and fire a rocket that brought down a large portion of a wall. He was in the thick of the action, but not alone. Currey caught sight of five Americans who had been pounded for hours by the artillery of three German tanks and small-arms fire from a house. Sergeant Currey again acted with tremendous courage, this time in retrieving antitank grenades from a nearby vehicle. Still under heavy fire, he launched the grenades forcing the tank crews to abandon their vehicles and seek the cover of the house. Currey then boarded an abandoned half-track and fired at the enemy. Again he switched his position. He took command of a machine-gun whose crew had been killed and laid down machine-gun cover fire which allowed the 5 Americans, two of whom where badly wounded, to fall back safely out of harm's way. Currey had inflicted such heavy damage to the enemy that the Germans were forced to fall back.

Currey's courageous actions on that fateful day in 1944 not only saved the lives of five American soldiers but also halted an enemy advance preventing the Germans from flanking his battalion's position. This may have cut a considerable amount of time off the duration of the war; U.S. Army intelligence had mistakenly estimated that German forces would be unable to operate tanks in North Malmedy due to the area's unsuitable terrain - it was therefore considered unnecessary to station anything but a small unit in that zone. Later, it was speculated that had the Germans broken through that day, the war would have been prolonged for another six weeks; many feel it would have lasted even longer.

Sergeant Francis S. Currey will long be remembered as a skilled soldier with an in-depth knowledge of weaponry, a firm commitment to duty, and uncommon valor. Other medals and honors awarded: the Silver Star Medal, the European Theater of Operations United States Army Certificate of Merit, the Bronze Star, and 3 Purple Hearts.
 

Classic Collection - First in a Series - Equipment list: Medal of Honor (Army), bazooka, Browning automatic rifle, grenades, helmet with netting, wool knit cap, shirt, pants, boots, leggings, jacket, web belt, canteen with holder, ammo pouches, M-1 rifle, haversack - For ages 5 and up - Made in China

Brand new. From a clean, non-smoking environment. We ship fast and pack with care at We-R-Toys!

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G.I. Joe

Hasbro

81397