On 27 January 1945, First Lieutenant Thomas Don Ferguson was commanding Company G, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division and the 28th Division was in action against German forces near the city of Colmar, Alsace, France in the Vosges Mountains. There the 28th Division was steadily reducing the Colmar Pocket. 1LT Ferguson was leading a small reconnaissance force of 3 men in the mountains near Colmar, probing the German positions to determine the locations of their outposts. Three and four foot snowdrifts made progress difficult as the men pushed cautiously into the German lines with 1LT Ferguson in the lead. As they followed a narrow, tortuous mountain path that was half-hidden in the drifting snow, 1LT Ferguson felt his foot trip over a wire hidden beneath the snow's surface. The sharp crack of the detonator flashed its own warning and in the split-second before the mine exploded, 1LT Ferguson shouted for his men to "hit the ground." At the same time, 1LT Ferguson threw himself forward to cover the mine's blast with his own body and was killed instantly. A sergeant that was following closely behind was wounded over the eye, but he and the 2 other men undoubtedly owed their lives to 1LT Ferguson's instant action and heroic self-sacrifice.
On 27 January 1945, First Lieutenant Thomas Don Ferguson was commanding Company G, 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division and the 28th Division was in action against German forces near the city of Colmar, Alsace, France in the Vosges Mountains. There the 28th Division was steadily reducing the Colmar Pocket. 1LT Ferguson was leading a small reconnaissance force of 3 men in the mountains near Colmar, probing the German positions to determine the locations of their outposts. Three and four foot snowdrifts made progress difficult as the men pushed cautiously into the German lines with 1LT Ferguson in the lead. As they followed a narrow, tortuous mountain path that was half-hidden in the drifting snow, 1LT Ferguson felt his foot trip over a wire hidden beneath the snow's surface. The sharp crack of the detonator flashed its own warning and in the split-second before the mine exploded, 1LT Ferguson shouted for his men to "hit the ground." At the same time, 1LT Ferguson threw himself forward to cover the mine's blast with his own body and was killed instantly. A sergeant that was following closely behind was wounded over the eye, but he and the 2 other men undoubtedly owed their lives to 1LT Ferguson's instant action and heroic self-sacrifice.
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