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John J. Pinder Jr. was an US-american soldier in the Worldwar II. The Pinder barracks in Zirndorf (now Pinder-Park) are named after him. Read on... |
The text of the Medal of Honor citation (the award was given posthumously) reads:
The President, in the name of Congress, has awarded more than
3,400 Medals of Honor to our nation's bravest Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen since the decoration's creation
in 1861.
[...]
| PINDER, JOHN J., JR. | |
| Rank and organization: | Technician Fifth Grade, U.S. Army, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. |
| Place and date: | Near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944. |
| Entered service at: | Burgettstown, Pa. Birth: McKees Rocks, Pa. |
| G.O. No.: | 1, 4 January 1945. |
| Citation: |
On D-day, Technician 5th Grade Pinder landed on the coast 100 yards off shore under devastating enemy machinegun and artillery fire which caused severe casualties among the boatload. Carrying a vitally important radio, he struggled towards shore in waist-deep water. Only a few yards from his craft he was hit by enemy fire and was gravely wounded. Technician 5th Grade Pinder never stopped. He made shore and delivered the radio. Refusing to take cover afforded, or to accept medical attention
for his wounds, Technician 5th Grade Pinder, though terribly
weakened by loss of blood and in fierce pain, on 3 occasions
went into the fire-swept surf to salvage communication equipment.
He recovered many vital parts and equipment, including another
workable radio. On the 3rd trip he was again hit, suffering machinegun
bullet wounds in the legs. Still this valiant soldier The indomitable courage and personal bravery of Technician 5th Grade Pinder was a magnificent inspiration to the men with whom he served. |
You can find this text originally in http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohiib1.htm
The boat-picture is from http://www.odedodea.edu/k-12/d-day/GVPT_stuff/Normandy_campaign/operations.html
I would like to thank Warren M. Poulin from Winslow, Maine,
USA for the information about that.
A monument to Pinder was built in McKees Rocks in 1996. Buried in Grandview Cemetery in Florence, Pennsylvania (found in http://www.nauticom.net/www/civilwar/pamoh.htm).
D.R. Hamilton wrote me in January 2002: Since the city officials
decided to leave the Pinder tower standing as part of the new
Pinder park, do you know of any plan to put in place any kind
of memorial for John Pinder and the American Forces that served
at Pinder barracks?
There is a large number of old veterans that served at Pinder
and they cherish many fond memories of Zirndorf and Pinder Kaserne.
A plaque affixed to Pinder tower with a few words about John Pinder
& the American Forces that served there, I believe, would
be an appropriate thing to do.
Our mayor answered quickly by email (translated by Richard Lippmann and forwarded):
There is one or more memorial plates which have been secured
by the construction people. The city of Zirndorf will apply at
least one of these in the Pinder Park. A good opportunity to do
this is at a ground-breaking ceremony for a public park there.
This will be in late fall 2002.
