As the Germans launched their last, desperate offensive on the Western Front in mid-1918, a relatively new United States Army unit, the 3rd Infantry Division, would earn the nickname “Rock of the Marne” for its refusal to give an inch of ground against the overwhelming and advancing German forces. The Germans failed to break through the division’s defenses, turning the tide of the battle.
Despite its heroic stand, not one member of the 3rd Division was awarded the Medal of Honor throughout World War I, but that would change in the next conflict. Not only would the 3rd produce 61 Medals of Honor — the most of any division — but one of them, Audie Murphy, would be the most decorated soldier in the U.S. Army.
Although Murphy fought a long and agonizing war before receiving his Medal of Honor, one of his comrades-in-arms was destined for a much shorter, though no less violent, tour of duty.
As Murphy came ashore in Fedala, French Morocco, on Nov. 8, 1942, so too did Robert Craig, a second lieutenant in Company L, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
Craig, born in Scotland in 1919 before immigrating with his family to Toledo, Ohio, in 1923, had enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1941 as the likelihood of the United States entering the global conflict grew.
The following month Craig and the 15th Infantry Regiment left for Europe, participating in the November 1942 Operation Torch landings, cutting their teeth in Vichy-held French Morocco.
On July 10, 1943, however, the 3rd Division was place under the command of Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Seventh Army and tasked with job of taking Sicily during the Allied Operation Husky.
By day’s end, the 3rd Division had secured Licata and drove back a counterattack by the Italian 528th Coastal Defense Battalion while suffering less than 100 casualties.
On July 11, the division resumed its advance. Near the town of Favorotta, L Company encountered serious resistance on terrain short on cover or concealment, where a well-placed Italian machine gun position drove its troops to ground.
Three attempts were made to eliminate the obstacle, only to result in three failures with a lieutenant falling wounded during each attempt.
It was after the third failed attempt that Craig volunteered to have a go. In short order, his citation reads, he “snaked his way to a point within 35 yards of a point within 35 yards of the hostile position before being discovered.”
As he came under fire, Craig, armed with an M1 carbine, charged headlong at the machine gun nest and swiftly killed all three crewmen.
With the initiative back in their hands, Craig and his platoon advanced down the forward slope of the next ridge, only to encounter roughly 100 Italian troops.
Craig’s response was to signal his men back to the modest cover of the hill crest while he advanced, firing his carbine to divert enemy attention his way. At 25 yards, he dropped to one knee and, in quick succession, killed five enemy and wounded another three before being shot down himself.
“While the hostile force concentrated fire on him,” Craig’s citation continues, “his platoon reached the cover of the crest. Second Lt. Craig was killed by enemy fire, but his intrepid action so inspired his men that they drove the enemy from the area, inflicting heavy casualties on the hostile force.”
On May 26, 1944, Craig posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his valiant actions on the Italian coast. His father, William Craig, accepted the award on behalf of his son.
Buried in the Toledo Memorial Park in Sylvania, Craig’s name was subsequently commemorated on a Victory ship, the USAT Lt. Robert Craig, as well as a drawbridge, the Craig Memorial Bridge, spanning Route 280 over the Maumee River.
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