Do you know about Leonard A. Funk Jr., one of the most illustrious paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne? Like Audie Murphy, Funk is the recipient of a mind-bloggling number of decorations, which he earned during the Normandy, Market Garden and Bulge campaigns. Funk was a part of the C Company, 1st Battalion of the 508th PIR of the 82nd. He experienced his first real fight on June 6th 1944, at 28 years old. He showed a remarkable leadership, avoiding any casualty in his unit during the days they spent in combat in Normandy, fact that earned him a Silver Star. Then came September and Operation Market Garden. Leading a 3-men patrol, he attacked a german battery composed of three 20mm anti-aircraft cannons that were targeting the allied gliders. They managed to neutralize both the cannons and their crew, which was composed of more than 20 soldiers, thus clearing the sky for the gliders and saving potentially hundreds of soldiers. For that, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross. In January 1945, Funk was sent to the Bulge. Now the first sergeant of his company, he and his men encountered a fugitive group of 80 german soldiers who had escaped their captivity in Holzheim, in Belgium. One of this group’s officer held his gun to Funk, ordering him to surrender. This is when happened a scene that could be extracted from a movie or even a video game: Funk pretended to comply and started unslinging his submachine gun, but instead of giving it up, he quickly opened fire all while ordering his men to seize the enemy’s weapons. In mere minutes, 21 germans were dead, many more were wounded and the rest captured, neutralizing a highly dangerous unit and allowing his own unit to keep on its mission. For this highly bold feat, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a few months later, in September 1945, as well as the Bronze star and the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters for other various accomplishments. After the war, he started working for the Veterans Administration in Pittsburgh, until he retired with his wife in Pennsylvania. A plaque commemorating his achievements and memory was erected at the Veterans Memorial of Braddock Hills, the city he was born and passed in.
