James R. Hendrix
Master Sergeant, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
World War II

Master Sergeant James Richard Hendrix (20 August 1925 - 14 November 2002) was a U.S. Army soldier and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during World War II.

James R. Hendrix was born on 20 August 1925 and raised from birth in Lepanto, AR, the son of a sharecropper. He left school after the third grade to work in the fields. In 1944, at age 18, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to basic training in Florida, the first time he had been more than a few miles from his hometown.

After training, Hendrix was sent to Europe as a Private with the 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division. After waiting out the invasion of Normandy aboard ship in the English Channel, his unit landed and joined the drive across France and into Belgium as part of General George Patton's Third Army.

On 26 December 1944, near Assenois, Belgium, Hendrix captured two enemy artillery gun crews, held off the fire of two machine guns until wounded comrades could be evacuated, and then rescued a soldier from a burning vehicle. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company C, 53rd Armored Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division.

Place and date: Near Assenois, Belgium, 26 December 1944.

Citation: On the night of 26 December 1944, near Assenois, Belgium, he was with the leading element engaged in the final thrust to break through to the besieged garrison at Bastogne when halted by a fierce combination of artillery and small arms fire. He dismounted from his half-track and advanced against two 88mm. guns, and, by the ferocity of his rifle fire, compelled the gun crews to take cover and then to surrender. Later in the attack he again left his vehicle, voluntarily, to aid 2 wounded soldiers, helpless and exposed to intense machinegun fire. Effectively silencing 2 hostile machineguns, he held off the enemy by his own fire until the wounded men were evacuated. Pvt. Hendrix again distinguished himself when he hastened to the aid of still another soldier who was trapped in a burning half-track. Braving enemy sniper fire and exploding mines and ammunition in the vehicle, he extricated the wounded man and extinguished his flaming clothing, thereby saving the life of his fellow soldier. Pvt. Hendrix, by his superb courage and heroism, exemplified the highest traditions of the military service.

Hendrix reached the rank of Master Sergeant and served during the Korean War before leaving the Army in 1965.

Death and Burial

Master Sergeant James R. Hendrix died on 14 November 2002 at age 77. He is buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL.