The Terrible Death of U.S. Army Private First Class Joe Ray Hastings of Malvern, He must be Remembered

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 The 97th Infantry Division originally trained for amphibious assaults in the Pacific, but after massive losses at the Battle of the Bulge over the winter of 1944 -1945, they were sent to Europe in March 1945 as relief for depleted troops. 


By April, the division had pushed its way about half an hour east of Cologne, Germany, to an enemy stronghold called Drabenderhohe. 


On April 12, the Allies attacked the town. U.S. Army Private First Class Joe Ray Hastings of Malvern, Ohio,  a squad leader with Company C, was in charge of a light machine gun section that was supporting two platoons pushing into the town's defenses. 


As machine guns, mortars and other direct enemy fire rained down on them, Hastings fearlessly ran more than 350 yards through open, rolling fields to reach a position critical to gaining the upper hand.

 From there, he was able to kill the crews of a 20-mm gun and a machine gun, and he drove several dug-in riflemen out of their hiding spots. His actions allowed one of the platoons he was protecting time to reorganize and move the wounded to safety.


he second platoon wasn't doing so well. Hastings noticed they were being hit hard by heavy 40-mm and machine gun fire. He immediately ran about 150 yards to the leading elements of that unit and killed the 40-mm’s crew. 


Now in front of the platoon's attack, Hastings pushed farther into enemy territory, firing his gun from his hip and ignoring the many bullets that whizzed past him. He didn't stop until they had made it to their objective another 175 yards away. His hard work and bravery cleared the path for his company’s advance into Drabenderhohe.


Sadly, Hastings was killed four days later during another battle on April 16. The German forces surrendered to the Allies less than a month after that. He was just 20 years old when he was killed.


Hastings was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on April 12, 1945.

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