World War II Medal of Honor Winners

The markers on the graves of Almond Fisher and Leonard Funk, in Arlington National Cemetery, have these words just below their names- "Medal of Honor". As winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor, they have earned their final resting place in Washington, D.C. But the mere words, Medal of Honor, do not do justice to what these two brave men did to warrant the nation's highest award for valor. Their incredible courage, in the face of death, allowed them to perform acts of heroism during World War II that inspires us still today.

Leonard Funk was born in Braddock Township, Pennsylvania, on August 27th, 1916. He enlisted in the Army when he was twenty one, in June of 1941. Volunteering for airborne training, Leonard worked to get his wings; after receiving them, he was assigned to the 508th Parachute Infantry, which was sent to England as part of the 82nd Airborne Division. He survived the D-Day jump into France with the 82nd and later became part of Operation Market Garden, an attempt to secure bridges in Holland over the Rhine River from the Germans. The diminutive Funk, only five foot five, garnered a Distinguished Service Cross for the leadership of his men, as they attacked a German stronghold during the operation. As the Battle of the Bulge began in December of 1944, Funk had been promoted to First Sergeant. As the German Army tried to break through the Allies in Ardennes, the 82nd was part of the two division force that was there to stop them.

After the Germans were halted, on January 29th, 1945, Leonard Funk performed the feats that led to his gaining the Medal of Honor. In charge of a makeshift platoon, he was given the task of assaulting fifteen German occupied houses in Holzheim, Belgium. In a fierce snowstorm, he and his men captured a total of over eighty prisoners. The platoon was understaffed; Funk could only spare four soldiers to guard the Germans in the yard of one of the houses. He returned to the fight, but when he ran into heavy resistance, he came back for the four men, assuming that by now other paratroopers had arrived to handle the prisoners.