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Rank and organization:
Private, U.S. Army, 36th
Infantry Division.
Place and date:
Near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943.
Entered service at:
Pueblo, Colo.
Birth:
Pueblo, Colo.
G.O. No.:
57, 20 July 1944.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of
duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943. When Company I
attacked an enemy-held position on Hill 424, the 3d Platoon, in which Pvt. Crawford was a
squad scout, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the
hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machinegun and small-arms fire.
Locating 1 of these guns, which was dug in on a terrace on his immediate front, Pvt.
Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire
to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and singlehandedly destroyed the
machinegun and killed 3 of the crew with a handgrenade, thus enabling his platoon to
continue its advance. When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by
enemy fire, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the
front midway between 2 hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced
in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a handgrenade he destroyed I gun
emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the
other and with I grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder
to flee. Seizing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated
his company's advance.
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