Army Lieutenant Uses Three Grenades to Break German Line in Italy

Arnold Bjorklund destroyed three German weapons with three hand grenades during a 1943 battle in Italy, an action that earned him the Medal of Honor. The Army lieutenant’s courage allowed his platoon to capture a fortified hillside position despite heavy enemy fire. His story resurfaces as communities across Whidbey Island prepare to observe Veterans Day on November 11.

The battle took place on September 13, 1943, near Altavilla, Italy. Bjorklund served with the 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Infantry Division. The unit had landed at Salerno four days earlier as part of the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland. German troops held fortified positions on Hill 424, using machine guns and mortars to pin down American soldiers.

Bjorklund led his platoon along the right flank until rifle and machine gun fire halted the advance. He ordered his men to provide covering fire and crawled toward a German machine gun. From a few yards away, he threw his first grenade, destroying the weapon and killing its three-man crew. He then moved to a second machine gun located about 20 yards away on a higher terrace. His second grenade destroyed that position and killed two more German soldiers.

The platoon advanced 150 yards to the crest of the hill before a German mortar stopped the progress again. Bjorklund located the mortar and crawled to within 10 yards, exposing himself to enemy fire with little cover. His third grenade destroyed the mortar and killed two soldiers. Three other Germans fled, allowing the Americans to secure their objective. War Department General Orders No. 73, issued September 6, 1944, recognized his actions.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented Bjorklund with the Medal of Honor at the White House on August 30, 1944. He was the first infantryman from Washington state to receive the decoration. Three days after the battle on Hill 424, Bjorklund sustained 16 wounds to his feet and right arm. He spent eight months recovering at McCaw General Hospital in Walla Walla, where he also commanded a recreation camp for wounded soldiers.

Bjorklund met Army Air Forces Captain Leo L. Sawyer at the hospital. Sawyer introduced his sister, Darl, to Bjorklund. The couple married in April 1945 at McCaw General Hospital. Bjorklund received a medical discharge in March 1945. The Seattle Times reported on their romance in an April 27, 1945, article.

After the war, Bjorklund worked for Pacific Resin Company in Seattle and later moved to Edmonds. He and his wife had two children, Kent and Susan. In 1963, he became superintendent of the company’s plant in Portland. That year, President John F. Kennedy invited 234 Medal of Honor recipients to the White House Rose Garden. Bjorklund attended the gathering with his wife.

Bjorklund died in Vancouver, Washington, on November 28, 1979, at age 61. He is buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. His biography was written by military historian Duane Colt Denfeld and published by HistoryLink.org. The account details his life from his birth in Clinton in 1918 to his postwar career in the resin industry.