It is spring 1945 in Germany.

PFC Leo Martin (502nd PIR Co C, 101st Airborne) is on patrol carrying a heavy machine gun. Twenty-year old PFC Martin is 5’7 140 lbs and he’s lagging at the back of the patrol. His squad gets farther ahead of him and rounds a curve and he’s by himself. All of a sudden out of the woods a German soldier runs up to him with his hands up. PFC Martin points his machine gun at him shouting in German “Hande Hoch” (Hands Up!) but is “scared out of his mind” (his quote) that this may be a trick and the German will have a hidden hand grenade or pistol.

To complicate matters, more and more German soldiers start coming out of the woods toward him with their hands up surrendering, 42 in all! By this time PFC Martin is frantically yelling for help from his buddies up the road, they finally hear him and turn around to see what all the yelling was about. First comment to PFC Martin was, “who do you think you are, Sgt York?” Sgt. Alvin C York was a WWI Medal of Honor recipient who captured 140+ Germans.

This is a true story as told to Gary Martin by his father, Leopold J Martin 1st Sgt US Army (Ret).

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Photo & Story Source: Gary Martin
Strasbourg France Feb 1945 – PFC Leo Martin on right, written on the back “shelling galore”