On the evening of September 4, 1944, the 8th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division set up a 14-man roadblock near the Belgian town of Sars-la-Bruyere.

An American patrol reported that at least 100 German soldiers were headed down the cobblestone road. When the Americans opened fire, the Germans scattered.

But the superior German numbers and firepower soon took their toll: Two GIs were killed, four were injured and many of the remaining Americans were taken prisoner.

U.S. Army Sergeant Gino Joseph Merli of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was serving as a machine gunner that evening. A Private First Class at the time, Merli, stayed with his machine gun covering their retreat. When his position was overrun, he feigned death while German soldiers prodded him with their bayonets, only to rise and confront the enemy when they withdrew. Twice, he fooled German soldiers into believing he was no longer a threat, only to attack them again when they left him for dead. In the morning, a counterattack forced the Germans to ask for a truce. The negotiating party found Merli still at his gun.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions on September 4-5, 1944. In addition, Merli received two Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, and the Humanitarian Award of the Chapel of Four Chaplains for his actions during World War II.

After the war, Merli was an adjudication officer for the Veterans Administration Medical Center and was a source of inspiration for Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation. He died in 2002 at the age of 78.

The Veterans’ Center in Scranton was named for Gino Merli in 2002. It is called the Gino J. Merli Veterans’ Center.