The morning of Feb. 12, 1944, would find 19-year-old Cpl. Gilbert Pritzel engaged in combat with German forces on the Italian front.
During this engagement, one of the 81-mm mortars assigned to his company was destroyed by enemy fire, forcing Pritzel and a fellow soldier to make a near-deadly 300-yard rush to acquire a new one. This, and other heroic actions throughout Italy and France, would eventually earn the young soldier five Bronze Star medals.
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