Official Website of George Walton Post 371
41 N. Lakeview Drive, P.O. Box 125, Gibbsboro, NJ 08026
Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of the month at 1900 hours except July & August.
WELCOMES YOU
Our Mission:
- Provide Military Veterans and their Families
with camaraderie and support.
- Provide our community with resources
and guidance to foster American ideals,
civic pride, and prosperity.
Since our charter in 1946, American Legion Post 371 has been welcoming military personnel, and VETERANS from all branches of our Armed Forces who have served honorably. Joining Post 371 enables you to continue serving your Country and Community. We strive to implement the goals, aspirations, dreams, peace and blessings of our country, friends and families.
Please take a few moments to browse our various categories
to find out what is happening in and around Post 371.
Feel free to call (856.783.7327) or email any questions or comments.
Thank you for visiting us.
Howard Secrest, Post Commander
See the Commanders full message
The American Legion would like to THANK the following participants
for helping to make our 9/11 Ceremony a SUCCESS!
View 9/11 Photos Here
CONGRESSIONAL
MEDAL of HONOR
RECIPIENT
The Medal of Honor stands as the United States' most prestigious military award for valor.
More than 150 years since its creation, the significance of the Medal remains undiminished.
Inscribed within it are the core values that each recipient exhibited in their defining moments—
bravery, courage, sacrifice, and integrity.
A distinguished award presented only to the deserving, the Medal tells a story of its own.
John "bud" Hawk
World War II
U.S. ARMY
Sergeant
UNIT: Weapons Platoon, Company E,
2d Battalion, 359th Infantry,
90th Infantry Division
PLACE: near Chambois, France
August 20, 1944
Out of the 41 million who have served in the U.S. military, the Medal has been presented to only 3,511 service members.
Check this space often for more MEDAL OF HONOR stories.
Citation
He manned a light machine gun on 20 August 1944, near Chambois, France, a key point in the encirclement which created the Falaise pocket. During an enemy counterattack, his position was menaced by a strong force of tanks and infantry. His fire forced the infantry to withdraw, but an artillery shell knocked out his gun and wounded him in the right thigh. Securing a bazooka, he and another man stalked the tanks and forced them to retire to a wooded section. In the lull which followed, Sgt. Hawk reorganized two machine-gun squads and, in the face of intense enemy fire, directed the assembly of one workable weapon from two damaged guns. When another enemy assault developed, he was forced to pull back from the pressure of spearheading armor. Two of our tank destroyers were brought up. Their shots were ineffective because of the terrain until Sgt. Hawk, despite his wound, boldly climbed to an exposed position on a knoll where, unmoved by fusillades from the enemy, he became a human aiming-stake for the destroyers. Realizing that his shouted fire directions could not be heard above the noise of battle, he ran back to the destroyers through a concentration of bullets and shrapnel to correct the range. He returned to his exposed position, repeating this performance until two of the tanks were knocked out and a third driven off. Still at great risk, he continued to direct the destroyers' fire into the Germans' wooded position until the enemy came out and surrendered. Sgt. Hawk's fearless initiative and heroic conduct, even while suffering from a painful wound, was in large measure responsible for crushing two desperate attempts of the enemy to escape from the Falaise pocket and for taking more that 500 prisoners. (10/6)
See more "Medal of Honor" stories here
