Medal of Honor Monday: Army Pfc. Ernest Prussman

Army Pfc. Ernest William Prussman fearlessly led his squad into battle as the Allies pushed into Europe to free the continent from tyranny during World War II. Prussman didn’t survive the mission, but his bravery demoralized the enemy and helped several battalions move forward. For his actions, Prussman was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. 

Prussman was born Sept. 15, 1921, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Herbert and Helen Prussman. He had a twin brother named Earl. Two other brothers, Calvin and Henry, also served during World War II.  

When Prussman was 5, his family moved to Brighton, Massachusetts, outside of Boston, where he grew up and graduated from Brighton High School.  

Prussman worked as a chain store clerk before joining the Army in October 1942. In July 1944, weeks after the Allies had regained a foothold on the European continent, Prussman’s unit, the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, was sent to France. 

Two months later, Prussman gave his life in the fight for freedom.   

On Sept. 8, 1944, Prussman was with two battalions moving through the northwest Brittany region of France when their advance was halted by intense enemy mortar, machine gun and sniper fire. The assault was coming from an enemy fortification on Prussman’s left, so he quickly prepared his squad to assault that position. 

Prussman took the lead and hurdled a hedgerow before disarming two enemy riflemen. He then led his squad across an open field to another hedgerow before advancing to a machine gun position, destroying the gun and capturing its crew and two additional enemy riflemen.  

Prussman continued to move ahead of his squad. This time, however, he was mortally wounded by an enemy bullet. But before he fell to the ground, he was able to throw a hand grenade, which killed one more enemy fighter.  

While Prussman didn’t survive, his leadership and heroic actions demoralized the enemy enough that their resistance collapsed, which allowed the Allied battalions to continue their march.  

On April 19, 1945, Prussman’s parents and twin brother accepted the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Army Maj. Gen Sherman A. Miles during a celebration in Boston. Prussman also received the French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star for his selfless actions. 

Prussman is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery in St. James, France.  

The young private has not been forgotten. At Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany, Prussman Avenue was named in his honor. A Medal of Honor monument was also established in Boston in 2016 in remembrance of his legacy.