John David Magrath, born July 4, 1924 in East Norwalk, Connecticut, enlisted March 1943 in the 10th Mountain Division.
On April,14 1945, the day of the attack on the last German defense lines before the Po Valley, he served in Company G, 85th Regiment, stationed on Monte della SPE, near the hilltown of Castel d'Aiano.
The company's objective was Hill 909 which, together with the adjacent Hill 913 and 813, was part of the central and most fortified German front line from which intense artillery, mortar and machine gun fire came. It was a hard and bloody day and, as various veterans' testimonies tell us, the valley between the two spurs, Monte della SPE and hills 813, 909 and 913, was dotted with killed or wounded American soldiers.
The company's frontal attack suffered some stops due to hard enemy fire. It was during one of these that John D. Magrath took the initiative and attacked the German positions. The second part of the third episode is dedicated to this heroic act and the motivation with which he received the Medal of Honor posthumously is worth more than any word. Magrath was killed that afternoon while volunteering to collect data for a report on how many soldiers was been killed and wonded. He was 20 years old.
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty when his company was pinned down by heavy artillery, mortar, and small arms fire, near Castel d'Aiano, Italy.
Volunteering to act as a scout, armed with only a rifle, he charged headlong into withering fire, killing 2 Germans and wounding 3 in order to capture a machinegun.
Carrying this enemy weapon across an open field through heavy fire, he neutralized 2 more machinegun nests; he then circled behind 4 other Germans, killing them with a burst as they were firing on his company.
Spotting another dangerous enemy position to this right, he knelt with the machinegun in his arms and exchanged fire with the Germans until he had killed 2 and wounded 3. The enemy now poured increased mortar and artillery fire on the company's newly won position. Pfc. Magrath fearlessly volunteered again to brave the shelling in order to collect a report of casualties. Heroically carrying out this task, he made the supreme sacrifice—a climax to the valor and courage that are in keeping with highest traditions of the military service.
John Magrath was the only Medal of Honor awarded to a soldier of the 10th Mountain Division during World War II. He is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Norwalk, Connecticut and a monument was dedicated to him in Riodomello, near the top of Hill 909, whose plaque was renewed in September 2023, by the Production of the miniseries in agreement with the Administration of the Municipality of Castel d'Aiano, honoring his memory.
