WWII Veteran * Pembina County

Grand Forks Herald September 2, 1944 — page one 

Hensel, Doyon Men Get Silver Stars. 

Washington — (AP) — The War Department announced the award of silver stars to Staff Sgt. Alvin C. Furstenau of Hansel, N.D. and Pfc. Arthur O. Anderson of Doyon, N.D. 

The citations read: “To Alvin C. Furstenau, S/Sgt. (then corporal) informed., Hensel, N.D. for: While his company was preparing to return to a rear area in Italy, January 10, 1944, the members were pinned down by extremely heavy enemy fire. He fought his way up a hill, stopping every few yards to return the enemy fire.” 

“Upon attaining, the reverse slope of the hill, he found several of his comrades. Knowing that the company officers and most of the company were still pinned down on the forward slope, he organized the men in the face of heavy enemy fire and established an effective base of fire on the crest of the hill, which aided materially in the withdrawal of the rest of the company.” 

“To Arthur O. Anderson, Pfc. (then private) Inf., Doyon, N.D. for: An assistant automatic rifleman, he was part of a five-man patrol whose mission was to flank an enemy position delaying the advance of his platoon in the South Pacific theater Nov. 20, 1943. “As the patrol approached the enemy position, it received a heavy burst of fire that killed three and wounded a fourth man of the patrol. He, the remaining member, left his concealed position and recovered the exposed automatic rifle. 

“His aggressive determination to keep the weapon in operation resulted in the death of several of the enemy and the withdrawal of the rest, thereby permitting the continued advance of his platoon.”