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Armed with a bazooka, Private First Class William A. Soderman defended a key road junction near Rocherath, Belgium on Dec. 17, 1944, during the German Ardennes counter-offensive. After a heavy artillery barrage had wounded and forced the withdrawal of his assistant, he heard enemy tanks approaching the position where he calmly waited in the gathering darkness of early evening until the 5 Mark V tanks which made up the hostile force were within point blank range. He then stood up, completely disregarding the firepower that could be brought to bear against him, and launched a rocket into the lead tank, setting it afire and forcing its crew to abandon it as the other tanks pressed on before Private First Class Soderman could reload.
The daring bazooka man remained at his post all night long under severe artillery, mortor, and machine gun fire, awaiting the next onslaught, which was made shortly after dawn by 5 more tanks. Running along a ditch to meet them, he reached an adventageous point where he leaped to the road, and in plain view of the tank gunners, he deliberately aimed his weapon and disabled the lead tank.
The other vehicles, thwarted by a deep ditch in their attempt to go around the crippled tank, withdrew. While returning to his post Private First Class Soderman, braving heavy fire to attack an enemy infantry platoon from close range, killed at least 3 Germans and wounded several others with a round from his bazooka. By this time, enemy pressure had made Company K's position untenable.
Orders were issued for withdrawal to an assembly area, where First Class Soderman was located when he once more heard enemy tanks approaching. Knowing that elements of Company K had not completed their disengaging maneuver and were consequently extremely vulnerable to an armored attack, he hurried form his comparatively safe position to meet the tanks.
Once more he disabled the lead tank with a single rocket, his last. But before he could reach cover, machine gun bullets from the tank ripped into his right shoulder. Through his unfaltering courage against overwhelming odds, First Class Soderman contributed in great measure to the defense of Rocherath, exhibiting to a superlative degree the intrepidity and heroism with which American soldiers met and smashed the savage power of the last great German offensive.
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