The Most Badass WWII Soldier You've Never Heard Of: Francis Sherman Currey

in the dark cold near Frozen winters of Western Europe the year 1944 could have ended with a grim note as Germans made their last push to conquer Belgium and the Netherlands and kick Allied armies out of the European Mainland but right before Christmas a miracle happened when a young 19 year old boy fresh into the army decided to stand up and say no And stood up to fight alone for he had decided that Germans shall not pass the river this young boy was Francis Sherman Curry a Slim Boy from New York who could have been the inspiration for Captain America if the comic superhero didn't predate him welcome to nutty history and today we are unraveling the scary untold story from the World War II days of Francis Sherman Curry that the history books didn't tell us [Music] Mayhem and Melody foreign the Battle of the Bulge holds an important place in The Chronicles of the second world war the month-long conflict in the Arden region of the Western Front was a decisive factor in ending the Nazi regime the battle began when 29 year old esses Lieutenant Colonel jockin Piper who was the commander of a regiment of the first SS Panther division of the leipzadata SS this Battalion was Infamous as the blowtorch Battalion they had earned its name by blazing everything that came their way in Russia the brutality of the blowtorch Battalion wasn't only limited to the enemy ranks they were also responsible for the annihilation of the majority of the civilian population of two separate Villages so war crimes were not a shy subject for them in the last German offensive of World War II Piper spotted a truck Convoy of battery B of the 285th peeled artillery observation Battalion on December 17 1944. this happened southeast of malmadi and he ordered the Panzer tanks to open fire within seconds the lead vehicles of the con void were destroyed and the entire party came to a halt but the tanks didn't stop firing the outgun Americans were forced to abandon their vehicles and found themselves surrounded with no Escape in sight the majority of terrified soldiers surrendered as Germans quickly overtook the thin U.S lines while a few managed to escape herded to a nearby Field captured U.S soldiers soon found themselves at Piper's Mercy but he had nothing to offer the terrified group appeal W's heard one of the tank commanders order open fire in German while English-speaking SS were asking around if any of them were injured those who responded were terminated on the spot a total of 81 Americans were executed in what could be considered the worst war crime against the U.S troops during World War II in Europe the SS troops moved on leaving nearly 40 survivors to scramble their way to a U.S army colonel station at malady and Report the gruesome incident soon the word also reached General Eisenhower U.S troops were now more determined than ever to hold the line and give the Germans no quarter but the situation was Bleak Germans had already overrun the anti-tank positions a week later in what became known as the malamity Mayhem the New York Times headline read Doughboy throws Arsenal at Nazis a lanky 19 year old private had pulled an extraordinary feat to repulse an onslaught by the first SS Panzer Division a few miles from where the malmedi Mayhem had happened a true American Hero orphaned at the age of 12 Francis dull boy Curry enlisted in the U.S army at the age of 17 and was assigned as a replacement infantry man to the battle hardened 30th Infantry Division in September 1944. the 30th Infantry Division was stationed in the Netherlands during that time and Curry arrived there after receiving extensive training on Infantry weapons of All Sorts Curry was performing guard duties at a Bridge Crossing in malmody on the morning of December 21st 1944 when out of nowhere German artillery began firing at their base private Curry and other infantry men retreated in foxholes backing up American anti-tank troops to fighting was fierce yet Curry was smart enough to figure out that the artillery barrage was cover for an enemy infantry assault peeking from the cover Curry noticed the barrel of a German tank coming out of a corner down the road When the Smoke of the artillery cleared the German tank commander was standing up in the turret of his tank to survey the area as soon as Curry noticed it he knew the commander was pretty much a Sitting Duck for him and the young boy let loose with a burst from his bar the tank in response continued down the road so Curry had to retreat down the bridge and see cover in a nearby Barn where Curry's regiment had a bazooka stored with the help of another Soldier Curry loaded the Bazooka and then let the oncoming German tank have it the Bazooka round struck the tank at the base of the turret thereby jamming and rendering it ineffective this was enough to make the German tank Retreat and allow Curry to return to the bridge but this was just the beginning as Curry soon observed three more German tanks around the corner and heading for the bridge this was Curry's Rambo moment he eyed a knocked out anti-tank position nearby and the Slender boy ran through Furious German fire to locate anti-tank grenades then all by himself he lobbed the grenades to take down all three German tanks one by one the German tank Crews were forced to abandon their vehicles in Retreat while Curry stowed his ground through Relentless rifles and machine guns firing from the Enemy Lines the Germans were determined to cross the river and take Melody but Curry was having none of it while taking cover from yet another burst of rifle rounds he noticed a machine gun crew just opposite of his position was knocked out the entire crew either wounded or killed by enemy fire despite knowing how dangerous it was as Torrance of rounds were firing from all directions Curry crawled to Aid the wounded machine Gunner's evacuation across the road he then took charge and provided cover fire as the five wounded men escaped to safety Curry kept the cover fire going until the position became untenable due to heavy enemy Fire by then Curry had not only put a heavy dent in German advances but also eliminated many German infantrymen post Battle of the Bulge for his extreme example of Bravery Curry became a squad leader and was awarded the silver award for gallantry in action at his regiment's command post as a leader Curry had a 48-member platoon under his command but sadly the young man found it very difficult to fit into the role since most of these men were the replacement of the squad that he joined in 1944 they didn't share the emotions attached to the battles they didn't fight together the total casualties was so high that only four or five soldiers from the original platoon roster were still with him during the month of March 1945 Curry's company Commander recommended his name for the Medal of Honor citing his bravery during the German attacks on December 21 1944. Curry was presented with the award on July 27 1945 by the 30th Infantry Division Commander Major General Leland Hobbs near ronce France the official awards ceremony however was performed on August 17 1945 after the fall of Berlin despite being a well-decorated army Francis Sherman Curry was a humble person he got to meet Eisenhower Bradley and President Truman after the war Curry mentioned that Ike was quite proud of him and opined that Curry's action in malmody to stop the German Advance during the Battle of the Bulge single-handedly shortened the war by six weeks or perhaps more for a single private this was a Monumental impact on the second world war Francis s Curry further received his third Purple Heart for being shot in Bavaria while he was disarming German soldiers his total tally of awards was Medal of Honor Silver Star bronze star medal three purple hearts as well as an order of Leopold from the Belgium military after being relieved from his active duty Curry joined the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Albany New York in 1950 as a counselor after retiring from there he spent his life running a landscaping business and also worked at a hotel booking conventions in Myrtle Beach South Carolina until 2002. the brave hero who pulled a Hollywood action movie-like odds of one man against an army left the world on October 8 2019 in New York back to that fateful battle with the Germans miraculously Curry had only endured a minor wound and to escape he jumped on a Jeep with other Squad members as they were forced to drive at high speed and darkness Guided by only dim headlamps the jeep was trying to get away as far as possible from the Germans with Young Curry riding shotgun his finger was on the trigger the whole ride in case they got spotted by the enemy and have to engage they ran into a roadblock that fortunately belonged to another American regiment but at first the gis were suspected of being enemy infiltrators the roadblock guards were wary that Curry and his Squad could be English-speaking German troops who were impersonating GIS after getting their hands on American uniforms it took Curry and his Squad the whole night before his fellow men believed them and sent them back to their regiment interestingly Francis Curry's Legacy was honored in many ways one of which was to become the first Medal of Honor recipient to be portrayed as a GI Joe action figure we hope you enjoyed the story of one of the many unsung national heroes if you want us to cover more stories like this tell us in the comments and as always thanks for watching nutty history don't forget to like share and subscribe [Music]

Channel: Nutty History

Views: 462,510

Keywords: nuttyhistory, The Scary Untold Story WW2 of Francis Sherman Currey, scary untold story of ww2, francis sherman, francis sherman currey, francis currey, ww2 stories, history of ww2, us veteran stories, The Scary Untold Story of The Orphan Who Helped End WW2, Germans during ww2, Ww2 History, Filthy Secret Victories During WW2, Ww2, Life during ww2, Filthy Victories of WW2

Id: kH2Z810b_EQ

Length: 9min 36sec (576 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 15 2023