Paul Bert Huff
Corporal, U.S. Army, 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. For actions near Carano, Italy.
February 08, 1944
Huff entered service at Cleveland, TN, where he was born.
On February 8, 1944, near Carano, Italy, Huff volunteered to lead a six-man patrol to determine the location and strength of an enemy unit firing on the right flank of his company over exposed, rolling ground. The patrol advanced under small arms and machine gun fire and a concentration of mortar fire, shells bursting within five to 10 yards of them and bullets striking the ground at their feet.
Moving ahead of his patrol, Huff drew fire from three enemy machine guns and a 20mm. weapon. Realizing the danger to his patrol, he advanced alone under deadly fire through a minefield and arrived within 75 yards of the nearest machine gun. Under direct fire, he crawled the remaining 75 yards to the closest emplacement, killed the crew with his submachine gun and destroyed the gun. He fired from a kneeling position, drawing fire from other positions, enabling him to correctly estimate the strength and location of the enemy. Still under concentrated fire, he returned to his patrol and led his men to safety. As a result of the information he gained, a patrol in strength went out that afternoon. One group under Huff’s leadership succeeded in routing an enemy company of 125 men, killing 27 Germans and capturing 21 others, with a loss of only three patrol members.
The Paul Huff Parkway in Cleveland is named is his honor.
