The nation’s oldest Medal of Honor recipient, a World War II
Army veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, will
celebrate his 95th birthday at a party today at a Clifton VFW Post.

ELIZABETH LARA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Army veteran Nicholas Oresko, 95, received the Medal of
Honor for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge in
World War II in 1945. His birthday, and his
accomplishments, will be honored today in Clifton.

Nicholas Oresko of Cresskill, a U.S.
Army master sergeant and Purple Heart recipient who
single-handedly wiped out two enemy bunkers near Tettington,
Germany, on Jan. 23, 1945, will also commemorate the 67th
anniversary of his heroism at today’s party at VFW Post 7165 on
Valley Road.

Oresko’s birthday was Jan. 18, and each invitee has been asked
to bring a younger person to hear the story of the hero platoon
leader with Company C, 302nd Infantry, 94th Infantry Division.

Back in January 1945, when the 28-year-old Oresko and his unit
were taking on heavy fire from the Germans, the situation
looked grim.

"We attacked their positions several times, and we got beaten
back," he said. "It’s terrible. It scares the hell out of you.

"So we figured this time, let’s sneak up on them," Oresko said.
"Instead of getting prepared with artillery fire, let’s just go
as it gets dark and sneak up on them and then attack ’em."

Oresko started out solo — at 4:30 a.m. that cold winter
morning. He assessed his chances.

"I looked up to heaven and said, ‘Lord, I know I’m going to
die, please make it fast,’ " he said.

Oresko realized that a machine gun in a nearby bunker must be
eliminated, and he did so alone, according to the 1945 citation
honoring his brave actions. Facing heavy gunfire, he tossed a
grenade into the bunker, then rushed it with his M-1 rifle and
killed any hostile forces who survived the explosion.

Another machine gun opened fire and knocked him down, seriously
wounding Oresko in the hip, the citation says.

Oresko said he managed a slow crawl to another bunker.

"The machine gunner who shot me thought I was dead," Oresko
said. "I was able to move around, sneak around, so they didn’t
see me. They saw me go down. They thought they’d killed me, but
they didn’t. I slipped around and somehow got around, and they
were in a bunch."

Oresko crawled back for grenades he’d dropped from inside his
jacket and advanced to an enemy dug-in machine gun. He crippled
the gun with a grenade blast and wiped out the troops manning
it with his rifle, the citation says.

"I got to the position to do what I was supposed to do, and I
couldn’t because I had no grenades," Oresko said. "I had to
crawl back a couple of feet and pick up the grenades. I was
almost afraid to do that, but I figured, what the hell?"

See the rest here:
Longevity, heroism saluted