In 1944, after capturing a portion of Besancon, France, a 3rd Infantry Division operation post was set up with a stone fence around it. One fateful night, Sept. 7, 1944, German Soldiers infiltrated behind the rifle company of the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, surrounding the command post.
"Two other Soldiers and I were the only ones available to defend the post," said Medal of Honor recipient Cpl. (Ret.) Robert D. Maxwell. "Officers were inside the building, and all my fellow Soldiers and I had were .45-caliber automatic pistols, which we used to cause a stir amongst the Germans."
In the middle of the engagement with the German soldiers, a grenade came over the fence.
"I did not know where (the grenade) landed, but I knew it landed somewhere near me, so I started to grope around on the floor in search of it so I could throw it back," explained Cpl. Maxwell. "I realized all of a sudden that there was no time left, so I dropped it where I was and threw a blanket and myself on top of (the grenade) and it went off."
It was his heroic acts that led to Cpl. Maxwell, now 89, receiving the highest military honor, awarded on April 6, 1945.
One of the Soldiers saved that day was Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Lloyd B. Ramsey. When Maj. Gen. Ramsey, now 92, heard that Cpl. Maxwell was attending the 91st Annual Reunion of the 3rd Infantry Division Historical Society, he said he was not going to miss the opportunity to personally thank the man who saved his life.
Major General Ramsey recovered from the injuries sustained the night of Sept. 7, and was sent back to the regiment, earning five Purple Hearts before helping lead the 3rd ID into Austria, where it liberated Salzburg and captured Adolf Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden.
But for Cpl. Maxwell, that blast ended his military career. He was sent back to the U.S. where he enrolled in Eugene Vocational school in Oregon. He worked as an auto mechanic for nine years, and later became a high school auto mechanic teacher for 32 years.
Unfortunately, ill health prevented Maj. Gen. Ramsey from attending the Society of the 3rd ID 91st reunion in Crystal City, Va., Sept. 15-19, so the host of the event, Capt. (Ret.) Monika Stoy, took it upon herself to set up a meeting between the veterans who had not seen each other since that day, 66 years ago.
"I've invited (Cpl.) Maxwell, to several Society of 3rd Infantry Division events, but he had never been able to make it," she said. "This year, he told me he would be able to attend the reunion. I informed Maj. Gen. Ramsey that Medal of Honor winner Maxwell would be attending, and he said 'Robert D. Maxwell'' When I asked him if he knew Maxwell, he said yes, he saved my life. I knew then that I had to do everything I could to make sure they met."
At 5 a.m., Sept, 18, Cpl. Maxwell boarded a van for a four-hour ride from Arlington, Va. to the Brandon Oaks retirement community in Roanoke, Va., for the meeting, Sept. 18. Also in the van were Jean - Marie Fritsch, the Mayor of Ammerschwihr, France, and his wife, Francoise; Dr. Heinz Schaden, Mayor of Salzburg, Austria; John Miller; Capt. Stoy; Sgt. Stephen Leglieter and Sgt. Cameron Strickland of the 3rd ID, and Medal of Honor recipient Wilburn K. Ross (see sidebar for more).
"Bob, I'd like to say thank you a million times for all you did," Maj. Gen. Ramsey said when he was reunited with Cpl. Maxwell. "I was the battalion commander, and you saved my life, and I was able to continue to command the battalion. You did a lot of good work for us, and I appreciate all you did for me and the United States Army and the United States of America. You are a true Soldier."
"There was no other alternative," Cpl. Maxwell said humbly.
Major General Ramsey also thanked the French people, represented by Mayor Frisch, for their hospitality and kindness during the war. Mayor Frisch presented a bottle of wine from his village winery to Maj. Gen. Ramsey, to "facilitate his quick recovery" and thanked him for what the 3rd ID did in their village during World War II.
Dr. Schaden, Mayor of Salzburg, also conveyed his gratitude to Maj. Gen. Ramsey "... for liberating the city of Salzburg in May of 1945, and for managing to do so without destroying the city, thereby maintaining the city's looks that it inherited more than 2,000 years ago."
"Thank you for liberating us and terminating the Nazi regime," Schaden continued.
Despite his heroics, Cpl. Maxwell remains humble about his actions in 1944.
"I haven't let it control my life," he said. "I believe that life is meant to be lived from day to day, and one needs not to dwell on the past."
Social Sharing