Honoring a hero

A little drizzle wasn’t going to stop a crowd from gathering for a bridge dedication Aug. 20 in Colfax in honor of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant Herschel F. “Pete” Briles. The bridge, located over the Skunk River on Highway 117, now displays a large sign in memorial of the local hero who served in WWII.

“I found in talking to someone from the IDOT, this sign is bigger than what they put on the interstate,” Pete Briles’ grandson, Brian Briles, said. “Why they chose to make it this big, I don’t know, but I’m glad they did.”

Pete Briles enlisted in the army on his 27th birthday, Feb. 7, 1941 with an initial intent to serve in the military for a year. Born number eight of nine kids, Brian said he thought he was looking for something different.

“Ten months to the day, Japan came along and created something different alright,” Brian said. “He saw action in the Tunisian and Rome-Arno campaigns before being deployed to Utah beach on D-Day. After almost two full years of fighting he displayed his actions that would earn him his medal of honor.”

According to the official Medal of Honor citation Herschel F. “Pete” Briles was leading a platoon of destroyers across an exposed slope near Scherpenseel, Germany on Nov. 20, 1944 when they came under heavy enemy artillery fire. A direct hit was scored on one of the vehicles, killing one man, seriously wounding two others and setting the destroyer on fire. With a comrade, S/Sgt. Briles left the cover of his own armor and raced across ground raked by artillery and small-arms fire to the rescue of the men in the shattered destroyer. Without hesitation, he lowered himself into the burning turret, removed the wounded and then extinguished the fire.

From a position he assumed the next morning, he observed hostile infantrymen advancing. With his machine gun, he poured such deadly fire into the enemy ranks that an entire pocket of 55 Germans surrendered, clearing the way for a junction between American units which had been held up for two days.

Later that day, when another of his destroyers was hit by a concealed enemy tank, he again left protection to give assistance. With the help of another soldier, he evacuated two wounded under heavy fire and, returning to the burning vehicle, braved death from exploding ammunition to put out the flames. By his heroic initiative and complete disregard for personal safety, S/Sgt. Briles was largely responsible for causing heavy enemy casualties, forcing the surrender of 55 Germans, making possible the salvage of our vehicles and saving the lives of wounded comrades.

S/Sgt. Briles was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman for his heroic efforts and now is recognized in Colfax both with the bridge and memorial in Mineral Springs Park. Following his return from the war, he settled with his wife on their Colfax farm, becoming a well-known member of the community.

“Everybody know Pete Briles,” Brian said.

Brian Briles shared many stores about his grandfather with the crowd, from the quarter he used to give him to buy grape Bubblicious gum, to the trip they took to Des Moines to purchase a new suit, which ended up being a memorable shade of green and the time they took a sled ride down the gravel road by the family farm. While his time in the service was not a topic that was often spoken about, he knew it helped shape and show who his grandfather was as a person

“I don’t know if he was such a great grandfather because of or in spite of the tough upbringing he had and his experiences in war, but whatever it was I know he was just darn good at being a grandpa,” Brian said. “I thank God I was lucky enough to have him in my life for as long as I did.”

Mayor David Mast hopes to be able to add some additional features to the bridge in the future to make it a focal point for those coming into town.

“We’re hoping in the future we can do some more to the bridge with some lighting and so forth to make it an even better entrance to our downtown,” Mast said.

For now, those coming to Colfax will see the memorial, in a big way, every time they cross the bridge.

“(My grandpa) was a lot of things. He was tall and handsome, he was a member of the greatest generation, he never knew a stranger, he possessed leadership qualities ... he possessed traditional values, he was patriotic, he loved America and the flag and what she stood for, he was ornery, he had a good sense of humor and a big laugh and he had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes,” Brian said. “He was humble and he never said he was brave. He never said he was a hero, he alwayssaid the real heroes never made it home, that is what he told President Truman. He was an ordinary Americanwho rose to the challenge and did extraordinary things in a time of need.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com