RESTRICTED

GO No 17 Hq 82d Abn Div APO 469 U S Army 15 Feb '45 (cont'd)

RESTRICTED

WARREN H. ZUELKE, SR., 38501094, Private, 508th Parachute .Infantry. For heroic conduct in action on 26 and 27 December 1944 near ***, BELGIUM. Private ZUELKE, a member of a LMG team of Company "F", was in position on the right flank of the company's defense sector. A German force, estimated to be two battalions, attacked on a narrow front involving positions on the right flank, around the village of ***. From their emplacement, Private ZUELKE’s LMG team placed heavy effective fire upon the attacking enemy, They held this position until the Germans succeeded in overrunning the [G Company] front line positions and had reached the right rear of Company "F", a distance of forty yards from their emplacement. Private ZUELKE and the two other men in the team then left their position under heavy fire, selected a new position which enabled them to bring a deadly fire upon the Germans and prevented them from encircling the right flank. Private ZUELKE and his companion's courage and initiative enabled the company to hold its positions and was instrumental in throwing back the enemy with heavy losses. Private ZUELKE’s actions reflect great credit upon himself and upon the Airborne Forces of the United States Army. Entered military service' from BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA.

NOTE: Warren Zuelke personally annotated this order to indicate that the location twice shown as “***” was the village of Erria. He also inserted the clarifying comment of “[G Company]” which has been shown in the text for ease of reading.