Above and Beyond the Call of Duty by Emily Irwin

Endl Class Picture

Gerald Endl’s 8th grade graduation class from Saint Joseph Catholic School. Endl is in the back row, second from the left.

On July 11, 1944, Gerald L. Endl made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to his country. “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” Endl was awarded the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military honor. Today, 70 years later, we recognize Staff Sergeant Endl and his sacrifice.

Born and raised in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Endl moved to Janesville before joining the Army in 1941.  He was first sent to Camp Livingston in Louisiana for basic training before being deployed to the Pacific Theater with the 32nd Infantry Division in 1942.

Gerald Endl

Gerald Endl

Stationed near Anamo, New Guinea, Endl was at the front of his platoon on July 11, 1944 when they encountered enemy troops. With his platoon leader and eleven other men in his unit wounded, Endl assumed command and attempted to advance to an open clearing. Pinned down by enemy gunfire, Endl realized that seven men in his unit would be trapped if the platoon was pushed back. The following quotation is taken from Endl’s official Medal of Honor citation:

“In the face of extremely heavy fire he went forward alone and for a period of approximately 10 minutes engaged the enemy in a heroic close-range fight, holding them off while his men crawled forward under cover to evacuate the wounded and to withdraw. Courageously refusing to abandon 4 more wounded men who were lying along the trail, 1 by 1 he brought them back to safety. As he was carrying the last man in his arms he was struck by a heavy burst of automatic fire and was killed.”

On March 13, 1945, Staff Sergeant Endl was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He was 28 at the time of his death and is buried at Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Fort Atkinson. Fellow soldier Captain S.M. Darnelly of the 32nd Division wrote:

“Gerald was an outstanding leader of men. I have never met a finer soldier. His devotion to duty and to his men earned the greatest admiration of all. We, his comrades, could have no better  example of the highest traditions of American soldiering. Many wounded comrades owe their lives to [his] unselfish courage…”

4th and 5th grade students from Saint Joseph Catholic School.

Saint Joseph

4th and 5th grade students from Saint Joseph Catholic School.

70 years later, Gerald Endl’s story has been brought to a new generation. On April 15, 2014, a group of 4th and 5th grade students from Fort Atkinson’s Saint Joseph Catholic School, the same school Endl attended, visited the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and viewed Endl’s Medal of Honor on exhibit.

Endl’s widow, Anna Marie, preserved many of her husband’s photographs and documents relating to his service and his death. These papers, now in the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Archives, tell the story of Staff Sergeant Endl’s courage and sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty.