b. 20/08/1916 Maple Lake, Minnesota. d. 25/06/1996 Grand Rapids, Michigan.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 15/12/1944 near Limon, Philippines.
Dirk J C Vlug MOH
Vlug joined the Army from Grand Rapids, Michigan in April 1941. On December 15, 1944, while serving as a private first class in the 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division, near Limon in the Philippine province of Leyte, Vlug single-handedly destroyed five enemy tanks. For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on June 26, 1946. He left the army and joined the Michigan National Guard in May 1949, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant in January 1951.
Vlug died at age 79 and interred in Greenwood Cemetery, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
MOH CITATION:
He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty when an American roadblock on the Ormoc Road was attacked by a group of enemy tanks. He left his covered position and, with a rocket launcher and six rounds of ammunition, advanced alone under intense machine-gun and 37-mm fire. Loading singlehandedly, he destroyed the first tank, killing its occupants with a single round. As the crew of the second tank started to dismount and attack him, he killed one of the foe with his pistol, forcing the survivors to return to their vehicle, which he then destroyed with a second round. Three more hostile tanks moved up the road, so he flanked the first and eliminated it, and then, despite a hail of enemy fire, pressed forward again to destroy another. With his last round of ammunition he struck the remaining vehicle, causing it to crash down a steep embankment. Through his sustained heroism in the face of superior forces, Pfc. Vlug alone destroyed five enemy tanks and greatly facilitated successful accomplishment of his battalion’s mission.
BURIAL LOCATION: GREENWOOD CEMETERY, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.
BLOCK X, LOT 203.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: MICHIGAN HEROES MUSEUM, FRANKENMUTH, MICHIGAN.
