Emile Deleau, Jr.
Sergeant, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
World War II

Sergeant Emile Deleau, Jr. (28 June 1923 - 2 February 1945) was a U.S. Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in France during World War II.

Emile Deleau, Jr. was born on 28 June 1923 at Lansing, OH. He entered service in the U.S. Army at Blaine, OH.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 142nd Infantry, 36th Infantry Division.

Place and date: Oberhoffen, France, 1-2 February 1945.

Citation: He led a squad in the night attack on Oberhoffen, France, where fierce house-to-house fighting took place. After clearing 1 building of opposition, he moved his men toward a second house from which heavy machinegun fire came. He courageously exposed himself to hostile bullets and, firing his submachine gun as he went, advanced steadily toward the enemy position until close enough to hurl grenades through a window, killing 3 Germans and wrecking their gun. His progress was stopped by heavy rifle and machinegun fire from another house. Sgt. Deleau dashed through the door with his gun blazing. Within, he captured 10 Germans. The squad then took up a position for the night and awaited daylight to resume the attack. At dawn of 2 February Sgt. Deleau pressed forward with his unit, killing 2 snipers as he advanced to a point where machinegun fire from a house barred the way. Despite vicious small-arms fire, Sgt. Deleau ran across an open area to reach the rear of the building, where he destroyed 1 machinegun and killed its 2 operators with a grenade. He worked to the front of the structure and located a second machinegun. Finding it impossible to toss a grenade into the house from his protected position, he fearlessly moved away from the building and was about to hurl his explosive when he was instantly killed by a burst from the gun he sought to knock out. With magnificent courage and daring aggressiveness, Sgt. Deleau cleared 4 well-defended houses of Germans, inflicted severe losses on the enemy and at the sacrifice of his own life aided his battalion to reach its objective with a minimum of casualties.

Death and Burial

Sergeant Emile Deleau, Jr. was killed in action on 2 February 1945. He is buried at Linwood Cemetery in Blaine, Belmont County, OH, in Section D.