Curtis F. Shoup (January 11, 1921 – January 7, 1945) received the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
for acts of bravery near Tillet in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(now a
deelgemeente
A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well.
Belgium
Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...
of
Sainte-Ode
Sainte-Ode (; wa, Sinte-Oude) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium.
On 1 January 2007, the municipality, which covers 97.87 km², had 2,305 inhabitants, giving a population density
Population den ...
) on January 7, 1945. He was a graduate of
Oswego High School in
Oswego, New York
Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...
. He is buried in North Scriba Union Cemetery in
Scriba, New York and his grave can be found in Lot 290, which is in the 3rd row from the entrance driveway, 14th headstone from the public highway (North Road, also known as County Route 1). GPS coordinates: Datum WGS84, 43° 29' 18.9" N, 76° 23' 30.5" W
Shoup joined the army from
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
in August 1942.
WWII Army Enlistment Records
/ref>
Medal of Honor citation
Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company I, 346th Infantry, 87th Infantry Division.
Entered service at: Buffalo, NY
Birth: Napenoch, N.Y.
Place and date: Near Tillet, Belgium, January 7, 1945.
G.O. No.: 60, July 25, 1945.
Citation:
On January 7, 1945, near Tillet, Belgium, his company attacked German troops on rising ground. Intense hostile machinegun fire pinned down and threatened to annihilate the American unit in an exposed position where frozen ground made it impossible to dig in for protection. Heavy mortar and artillery fire from enemy batteries was added to the storm of destruction falling on the Americans. Realizing that the machinegun must be silenced at all costs, S/Sgt. Shoup, armed with an automatic rifle, crawled to within 75 yards of the enemy emplacement. He found that his fire was ineffective from this position, and completely disregarding his own safety, stood up and grimly strode ahead into the murderous stream of bullets, firing his low-held weapon as he went. He was hit several times and finally was knocked to the ground. But he struggled to his feet and staggered forward until close enough to hurl a grenade, wiping out the enemy machinegun nest with his dying action. By his heroism, fearless determination, and supreme sacrifice, S/Sgt. Shoup eliminated a hostile weapon which threatened to destroy his company and turned a desperate situation into victory.
Namesake
The USNS Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup (T-AG-175)
USNS ''Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup'' (T-AG-175) was a Type C1 ship#C1-M, C1-M-AV1 coastal freighter. Built as ''Spindle Eye'', one of the many named for knots.In this case the ''spindle eye splice'' or shortened to simply ''spindle eye''. The use of knot ...
was named in his honor.
See also
*List of Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
This is a list of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II. The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recip ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoup, Curtis F.
1921 births
1945 deaths
Military personnel from New York (state)
United States Army non-commissioned officers
United States Army personnel killed in World War II
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor
Burials in New York (state)