Freeman Victor Horner
Major, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
World War II

Major Freeman Victor Horner (7 June 1922 - 1 December 2005) was a U.S. Army officer and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during World War II.

Freeman Victor Horner was born on 7 June 1922 in Mount Carmel, PA. He joined the Army from Shamokin, PA. On 16 November 1944, he was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company K, 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. On that day in Würselen, Germany, he single-handedly attacked three German machine gun positions and killed or captured the soldiers manning them. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 119th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Wurselen, Germany, 16 November 1944.

Citation: S/Sgt. Horner and other members of his company were attacking Wurselen, Germany, against stubborn resistance on 16 November 1944, when machinegun fire from houses on the edge of the town pinned the attackers in flat, open terrain 100 yards from their objective. As they lay in the field, enemy artillery observers directed fire upon them, causing serious casualties. Realizing that the machineguns must be eliminated in order to permit the company to advance from its precarious position, S/Sgt. Horner voluntarily stood up with his submachine gun and rushed into the teeth of concentrated fire, burdened by a heavy load of ammunition and hand grenades. Just as he reached a position of seeming safety, he was fired on by a machinegun which had remained silent up until that time. He coolly wheeled in his fully exposed position while bullets barely missed him and killed 2 hostile gunners with a single, devastating burst. He turned to face the fire of the other 2 machineguns, and dodging fire as he ran, charged the 2 positions 50 yards away. Demoralized by their inability to hit the intrepid infantryman, the enemy abandoned their guns and took cover in the cellar of the house they occupied. S/Sgt. Horner burst into the building, hurled 2 grenades down the cellar stairs, and called for the Germans to surrender. Four men gave up to him. By his extraordinary courage, S/Sgt. Horner destroyed 3 enemy machinegun positions, killed or captured 7 enemy, and cleared the path for his company's successful assault on Wurselen.

Horner reached the commissioned officer rank of Major and served in the Korean War before leaving the Army.

Honors

A section of U.S. Route 27 in Cataula, GA, as well as Georgia Route 219 in Columbus, GA, was named for him.

Death and Burial

Major Freeman Victor Horner died on 1 December 2005, at age 83 in Columbus, GA. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, in Section 11, Lot 338-2.

He was married to Joyce Farmer Lott, who cared for him after his 1990 brain aneurysm.