Returning To Past

Crawford was inducted into the US Army in July 1942. After just a year, he and his boys graduated with the position as a private. He started with the 142nd Infantry Regiment 36 Infantry Division on the front lines of southern Italy. As of September 13, 1943, he became a squad scout after attacking the enemy position at Hill 424 near Altavilla Silentina. The enemy was well equipped so they were not going down without a fight. The American troops had underestimated the rival group and had to think fast. They ended up in an epic battle where Mr. Crawford’s crew had to give their all…

Insane Bravery

His other crewmates were defending their lives but not Mr. Crawford. He went ahead and attacked the enemies with no fear. He showed superhuman courage and Crawford without instruction landed a grenade into the enemy’s base that turned out to be a success, resulting in a victory for the American troops. This was not all, Crawford actually charged into the enemy’s territory. To avoid the bullets, he crawled to the German machine gun nests and demolished them entirely. He was faced with something unexpected even after doing all of this.

Announced As MIA

His courage was the main reason why the American troops could be the enemy. Crawford single-handedly threatened the condition of the three giant deep established posts. However, just after this, Crawford another tragedy struck the group! The original spot that he has used to intimidate the enemies had been occupied by them. Crawford was held hostage now. After bombing the three prominent posts, Crawford was in captivity of the enemies. He was announced as MIA and was considered dead by his fellow soldiers. This would serve as one incident that truly made his life something straight out of an action movie.

Tragedy and Honor

The US government held Crawford’s credible actions in high esteem and honored him posthumously with the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration. His award was received by his dad as Crawford has already been pronounced dead. Everybody was coming into terms that Crawford was now a German Prisoner of War who must have been dead by now! The award ceremony was “a brief, impressive ceremony” and the medal was handed by the US Maj-Gen Terry Allen to Crawford’s father George.

Unbelievable Update

Crawford’s heroic story touched so many even after several months had passed. The question of whether he was dead or alive still prevailed… His family and friends had lots of questions in their mind about the fate of Crawford but he was not there to clarify things but when least expected, something amazing took place! When a bunch of American soldiers was released from German captivity, Crawford was one among them! He was finally home after spending time imprisoned for his brave attempt at conquering his enemies. He was still oblivious to the fact that he had won a prestigious award and what would follow soon…

Returning Home

Crawford was now free again so he started to live a civilian life and got married to Eileen Bruce in January 1946. But since he enjoyed military life so much, he was readmitted into the Army once again. His marriage was just over a year when he decided to get re-enlisted. He ended up serving the country for over 20 years and retired in the year 1967 only as a master sergeant. He then moved to Palmer Lake, Colorado where he worked as the director of the Lucretia Vaile Museum and a janitor at the Airforce Academy!