7 March

SFC NELSON V. BRITTIN
Co. I, 19th Infantry Regiment
Vicinity of Yonggong-ni, Korea
7 March 1951

SFC Brittin was leading his squad up a hill, with meager cover in the face of murderous fire from the an enemy gun position. He ordered his men to provide covering fire while he advanced, alone.

Brittin tossed a grenade at the nearest enemy position destroying it and killing the crew. As he returned to his squad, SFC Brittin was wounded by shrapnel from an enemy grenade.

Refusing medical attention, Brittin re-armed himself with grenades, then returned to lead his squad from the front hurling grenades into hostile positions, and shooting the enemy as they fled.

When his weapon jammed, he dove without hesitation into an enemy foxhole and killed the occupants with his bayonet and the butt of his rifle. Securing an enemy weapon, Btrittin continued to clear enemy foxholes.

Discovering his squad was pinned down behind him, Brittin rushed to the rear of the enemy gun position, that had his men pinned down,  threw in a grenade, then ran around to its front. He opened fire killing all three enemy soldiers manning the gun.

Less than 100 yards up the hill, his squad again came under vicious fire from another camouflaged, sandbagged, machine gun nest well-flanked by supporting riflemen. SFC. Brittin charged this new position.  Running directly into a burst of automatic fire which killing him instantly.

The last line of SFC Brittin’s MOH Citation puts it his way:

 In his sustained and driving action, he had killed 20 enemy soldiers and destroyed 4 automatic weapons. The conspicuous courage, consummate valor, and noble self-sacrifice displayed by Sfc. Brittin enabled his inspired company to attain its objective and reflect the highest glory on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.