James Megellas

Megellas was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on March 11, 1917,[5] the son of a Greek-American family and attended Ripon College in the nearby city of Ripon.[6] The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred midway through his senior year. He participated in the school's Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and, upon graduation in May 1942, received a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.[2]

Megellas was originally assigned to the Signal Corps, but grew tired of the required additional schooling and volunteered to become a paratrooper in order to see combat.[2] He was assigned to H Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He first experienced combat in the mountains outside Naples, Italy, near Venafro, where he was wounded and hospitalized. In October 1943, while the remainder of the 82nd Airborne departed Italy to recoup before the invasion of Normandy, the 504th PIR remained behind and took part in Operation Shingle. On January 22, 1944, the 504th took part in an amphibious assault at Anzio. The fighting took a heavy toll, Megellas being wounded again. It was not until April before the regiment was withdrawn. Due to the losses at Anzio, the 504th did not participate in the D-Day Normandy Landings. They did, however, parachute into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden, the airborne invasion of that country.

The 82nd Airborne Division drops near Grave (National Archives)

Megellas took part in the crossing of the Waal River near Nijmegen, where the American forces crossed the river in flimsy boats while under heavy machine gun fire. On September 30, in Holland, Megellas single-handedly attacked a German observation post and machine gun nest. For displaying extraordinary heroism that day, he was awarded the U.S. military's second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross.[2] On December 20, for defeating the enemy at the base of a hill and rescuing one of his wounded men near Cheneux, Belgium, Megellas was awarded the Silver Star.[3]

In late December, the regiment was rushed into the Battle of the Bulge. On January 28, 1945, Megellas' platoon was advancing towards Herresbach, Belgium. Struggling through heavy snow and freezing cold, they surprised 200 Germans who were advancing out of the town. Catching the Germans largely off-guard, the attack proved to be devastating, with the Americans killing and capturing a large number and causing many others to flee. As they prepared to assault the town, however, a German Mark V tank took aim at them. Megellas ran towards it, and disabled it with a single grenade. Climbing on top of it, he then dropped another grenade into the tank, eliminating the threat to his men. He then led his men as they cleared and seized the town, and not one of his men was killed or injured. Although he was recommended for the Medal of Honor shortly afterward, he received the Silver Star (the German tank incident was not mentioned in his award citation).[1][3]

Throughout the war, Megellas served with Company H, 504 PIR, which he would later come to command. In January 1946, he led his rifle company down Fifth Avenue in New York City in the Victory Parade.

James Megellas with John Ratzenberger, the actor who portrayed James in the film A Bridge Too Far.

In 1946, Megellas left the active Army with the rank of captain and served for a further 16 years in the Army Reserve. He retired as a lieutenant colonel. he served with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1946 to 1978 and served two tours in the Vietnam War. He wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences entitled All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe.[2] Megellas made an unsuccessful run as a Democrat against William Van Pelt to represent Wisconsin's 6th District in 1958 and 1960,[7][8] and he served on the Fond du Lac city council until 1961.[9]

In May of 1962, Megellas married the love of his life, former Miss Ripon 1960, Carole Margaret Laehn of Fond du Lac, an accomplished pianist who was a contestant in the 1960 Miss Wisconsin pageant in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They had two children, James and Stephen, and subsequently four grandchildren. Carole passed away at age 83 on October 29, 2022 in Texas.

He was portrayed by John Ratzenberger in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far. Megellas lived in Colleyville, Texas as of 2009.[1] He turned 100 in March 2017[10] and died on April 2, 2020, in Colleyville, Texas, just 22 days after his 103rd birthday.[11][12]

Megellas' military decorations and awards include the following:

Master Parachutist

Combat Infantryman Badge

	Distinguished Service Cross
	Silver Star with 1 oak leaf cluster[13]
	Bronze Star Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster and "V" device
	Purple Heart with 1 oak leaf cluster
	Presidential Unit Citation with 1 oak leaf cluster
	American Defense Service Medal
	American Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 1 silver and 1 bronze star
	World War II Victory Medal
	Army of Occupation Medal
	National Defense Service Medal
	Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze stars
	Armed Forces Reserve Medal
	Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960– device
	Belgian fourragère

• Order of Saint Maurice in 2008.
• Dallas Military Ball's Meritorious Service Award in 2009.
• DAR Medal of Honor in 2010.[14]
• He was also the first American to be decorated by the Government of the Netherlands when he was awarded the Military Order of William Orange Lanyard. Selected by General James Gavin as the most outstanding officer of the 82nd Airborne Division, it was presented to him by the Dutch Minister of War in Berlin in 1945.

• List of Medal of Honor recipients

• All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe, James Megellas, Presidio Press, 2003. ISBN 0-89141-784-2

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Megellas.

• Official website Archived 2018-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
• New 2013 House Bill H.R.2082 for Medal of Honor Archived 2016-01-20 at the Wayback Machine
• New 2013 Senate Bill S.993 for Medal of Honor
• 'All The Way To Berlin' - Random House
• Interview on All the Way to Berlin at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
• Part 2 of Interview on All the Way to Berlin at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
• Appearances on C-SPAN