John R. Towle
John Roderick Towle (October 19, 1924 – September 21, 1944) was a United States Army Private and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in World War II.
Towle was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the Army in March 1943, volunteering for the paratroopers. He served in Company C, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
On September 21, 1944, near Oosterhout, Netherlands, during Operation Market Garden, Towle fought a counterattack with a rocket launcher. He left his foxhole under heavy fire and moved 200 yards to an exposed roadbed, where he fired at two enemy tanks. Although the rockets could not penetrate the tanks, they withdrew damaged. He then attacked a nearby house where nine Germans were inside and, with one round, killed all nine. After reloading, he moved about 125 yards under further fire to engage a nearby half-track, but was mortally wounded by a mortar shell just as he fired.
Towle’s heroism helped break up the enemy attack and saved many lives. He died at age 19 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on March 15, 1945—the first member of the 82nd Airborne Division to receive the medal in World War II.
Honors include the U.S. Navy ship USNS John R. Towle (T-AK-240) and Fort Bragg’s Towle Fitness Center. In Oosterhout, a street was named after him on the 75th anniversary of his death, and in 2024 a monument to Towle was unveiled on John R. Towle Street.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:32 (CET).