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Captain James Montross Burt (July 18, 1917 — February 15, 2006) was a United States Army officer who while serving within Company B, 3D Battalion (Burt's Knights), 66th Armored Regiment, 2D Armored Division received the Medal of Honor for his valor during the Battle of Aachen, World War II.
Captain Burt entered active service in 1941 and was assigned to the 66th Armor Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. Initially commissioned as an armor officer he was then placed within the new mechanized form of cavalry serving within campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe. Ultimately, promoted to captain, Captain Burt assumed command of Company B, 66th Armor Regiment. He lead his unit through near continuous combat from the landing at the Normandy beachhead in June 1944 through the conclusion of World War II, in May 1945. Later in life Captain Burt served as Honorary Colonel of the 66th Regiment.
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Captain Burt's Medal of Honor citation is unique in that he was awarded the medal not for a single act of valor, but instead for his actions during a 10-day period in October 1944 as the 2nd Armored Division fought to capture Aachen, Germany.
The official citation reads:
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2d Armored Division. Place and date: Near Wurselen, Germany, October 13, 1944. Entered service at: Lee, Mass. Birth: Hinsdale, Mass. G.O. No.: 95, October 30, 1945.
Citation:
Capt. James M. Burt was in command of Company B, 66th Armored Regiment on the western outskirts of Wurselen, Germany, on 13 October 1944, when his organization participated in a coordinated infantry-tank attack destined to isolate the large German garrison which was tenaciously defending the city of Aachen. In the first day's action, when infantrymen ran into murderous small-arms and mortar fire, Capt. Burt dismounted from his tank about 200 yards to the rear and moved forward on foot beyond the infantry positions, where, as the enemy concentrated a tremendous volume of fire upon him, he calmly motioned his tanks into good firing positions. As our attack gained momentum, he climbed aboard his tank and directed the action from the rear deck, exposed to hostile volleys which finally wounded him painfully in the face and neck. He maintained his dangerous post despite pointblank self-propelled gunfire until friendly artillery knocked out these enemy weapons, and then proceeded to the advanced infantry scouts' positions to deploy his tanks for the defense of the gains which had been made. The next day, when the enemy counterattacked, he left cover and went 75 yards through heavy fire to assist the infantry battalion commander who was seriously wounded. For the next 8 days, through rainy, miserable weather and under constant, heavy shelling, Capt. Burt held the combined forces together, dominating and controlling the critical situation through the sheer force of his heroic example. To direct artillery fire, on 15 October, he took his tank 300 yards into the enemy lines, where he dismounted and remained for 1 hour giving accurate data to friendly gunners. Twice more that day he went into enemy territory under deadly fire on reconnaissance. In succeeding days he never faltered in his determination to defeat the strong German forces opposing him. Twice the tank in which he was riding was knocked out by enemy action, and each time he climbed aboard another vehicle and continued the fight. He took great risks to rescue wounded comrades and inflicted prodigious destruction on enemy personnel and materiel even though suffering from the wounds he received in the battle's opening phase. Capt. Burt's intrepidity and disregard of personal safety were so complete that his own men and the infantry who attached themselves to him were inspired to overcome the wretched and extremely hazardous conditions which accompanied one of the most bitter local actions of the war. The victory achieved closed the Aachen gap.
Obituary
Army Capt. James Montross Burt, the only native of Berkshire County to win the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, died Wednesday at the age of 88.
Burt, a longtime resident of Lee, was honored with the James Burt Memorial Park, which is on Main Street next to the Lee Library. He won his medal, the country's highest honor, in October 1945 for helping in the victory of the
Aachen Gap in Germany.In the ceremony to award the medal at the White House, Burt admitted his nervousness.
"I just wondered how I could stop shaking," he told The Eagle at the time. He said that getting the award was a little bit "tougher" than "over there."
He was serving as a captain with Company B, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division in October 1944 when he directed a coordinated infantry-tank attack to isolate the large German garrison and capture the city of Aachen.
According to the official report, 10 days of fighting began on Oct. 13. Burt dismounted from his tank in the rear and moved forward beyond the infantry positions, where, as the enemy fired upon him, he motioned tanks into firing positions. He later climbed aboard his tank and directed the action from the rear deck, exposed to hostile volleys that wounded him in the face and neck.
He maintained his post until friendly artillery knocked out enemy weapons and then proceeded to the advanced infantry scouts' positions to deploy his tanks. The next day, he left cover and traveled 75 yards through heavy fire to assist the infantry battalion commander, who was seriously wounded. For the next eight days, Burt held the combined forces together.
After receiving the Medal of Honor, Burt was honored with a parade in Lee. A total of 2,500 people turned out to welcome the war hero.
He participated in seven major military campaigns and received four Purple Hearts and two oak leaf clusters. After leaving the active service, he continued to be involved in military affairs. He was a military aide to Gov. Christian A. Herter Jr. and Gov. Paul Andrew Dever during the 1950s.
Burt died in the Wyomissing Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Reading, Pa., where he had resided for two weeks. He was the husband of Edythe K. Burt. His first wife, Frances Burt, died in 1975.
Born in Hinsdale, son of Frederick and Ruth Burt, he was a 1935 graduate of Lee High School, where he was valedictorian, editor of the Ferncliff Echo, an unbeaten member of the debating team and a member of the All-Berkshire football team.
He was a 1939 graduate of Norwich University in Vermont, where he received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and his commission in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
He was employed from 1939 to 1941 and 1946 to 1961 as a chemist and later was vice president of Hurlbut Paper Co. in South Lee. From 1962 to 1965, he worked at Monadnock Paper Co. in New Hampshire.
In 1965, he taught at Conant High School in New Hampshire. From 1966 to 1976, he was a professor at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire.
He was a member of the board of fellows and president of the Friends of the Library at Norwich University. He received his master's degree in education from Keene State College in New Hampshire in 1972.
Burt leaves a daughter, Mary Frances Miller of Ashburnham; three sons, James H. Burt of Orange, Vt., William F. Burt of Jaffrey, N.H., and Edward H. Burt of Dale City, Va.; a sister, Alice Morin of East Lee; eight grandchildren; three step-grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
Burt's brother, Pfc. Thomas H. Burt was killed in action in Germany in World War II and was given a Bronze Star posthumously.
Material from the Reading Eagle was used in this report.
Published in The Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 18, 2006.
