World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He received the award on July 27, 1945, from his division commander, Major General Leland Hobbs, for his actions as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army assigned to Company K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division, on 21 December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge near Malmedy, Belgium. Orphaned at age 12, he joined the Army shortly after graduating from high school. He was sent to France following the June 6, 1944, D-Day Invasion and, by mid-December, his unit was engaged in a bitter fight with German forces at the historic Battle of the Bulge, for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor. During his military service, he also received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart (with two oak leaf clusters), and the Belgian Order of Leopold. Following the war, he returned home and worked as a counselor at a Veterans Administration Medical Center and later owned and operated a landscaping business. His death from congestive heart failure at the age of 94 leaves only two surviving World War II Medal of Honor recipients. As a side note, he became the first Medal of Honor recipient to be modeled as a G.I. Joe action figure. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "He was an automatic rifleman with the 3rd Platoon, defending a strong point near Malmedy, Belgium, on 21 December 1944, when the enemy launched a powerful attack. Overrunning tank destroyers and antitank guns located near the strong point, German tanks advanced to the 3rd Platoon's position, and, after prolonged fighting, forced the withdrawal of this group to a nearby factory. Sgt. Currey found a bazooka in the building and crossed the street to secure rockets, meanwhile enduring intense fire from enemy tanks and hostile infantrymen who had taken up a position at a house a short distance away. In the face of small-arms, machine-gun, and artillery fire, he, with a companion, knocked out a tank with 1 shot. Moving to another position, he observed 3 Germans in the doorway of an enemy-held house. He killed or wounded all 3 with his automatic rifle. He emerged from cover and advanced alone to within 50 yards of the house, intent on wrecking it with rockets. Covered by friendly fire, he stood erect, and fired a shot which knocked down half of 1 wall. While in this forward position, he observed 5 Americans who had been pinned down for hours by fire from the house and 3 tanks. Realizing that they could not escape until the enemy tank and infantry guns had been silenced, Sgt. Currey crossed the street to a vehicle, where he procured an armful of antitank grenades. These he launched while under heavy enemy fire, driving the tankmen from the vehicles into the house. He then climbed onto a half-track in full view of the Germans and fired a machine gun at the house. Once again changing his position, he manned another machine gun whose crew had been killed; under his covering fire, the 5 soldiers were able to retire to safety. Deprived of tanks and with heavy infantry casualties, the enemy was forced to withdraw. Through his extensive knowledge of weapons and by his heroic and repeated braving of murderous enemy fire, Sgt. Currey was greatly responsible for inflicting heavy losses in men and material on the enemy, for rescuing 5 comrades, 2 of whom were wounded, and for stemming an attack which threatened to flank his battalion's position."