William Adolph Soderman was born in 1912 in Connecticut, USA. In 1943 he enlisted in the army and was transferred to Europe. On December 17, 1944, he found himself as a bazooka operator fighting against German tanks in the snowy Ardennes.
Soderman was a lance corporal and head of the bazooka element. He served in K Company of the 9th Infantry Regiment of the US 2nd Infantry Division. Södermann was a brave and honorable man who did not give in easily.
On the evening of December 17, 1944, when the 12th SS Panzer Division attacked the 515 American soldiers guarding the strategic crossroads at Rosenrath (now Billingen), Belgium, Södermann was in ambush with his supplier.>
But the German fire wounded the second one. Söderman was left alone but did not back down. He remained in his place all night waiting, all alone. When a phalanx of German tanks approached he charged against the advance and destroyed it. You list the tank as a Pz V Panther, but other sources say it was a Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer.
At dawn the following day, December 18, another German tank phalanx attempted to emerge from an adjacent forest. But again Södermann, standing, ignoring the fire, fired at the leading tank with his bazooka, destroying it and immobilizing the other tanks that could not pass due to the terrain.
Soderman then moved toward his battalion's defensive positions as heavy fire rang out. There he saw the Germans had broken the defense of Company A and were in front of the positions of their colleagues of Company K.
He spotted a German platoon approaching. He immediately raised his M1 rifle and opened fire quickly and effectively. The Germans were taken by surprise. Several were killed and the others fled. For "dessert", he fired a rocket with his bazooka at them, killing at least three.
In the meantime his battalion was ordered to retreat. But his company had not had time to unhook when German tanks were heard approaching again. Södermann, without anyone asking him, took it upon himself to cover the retreat of his colleagues with his bazooka.
Again he faced the enemy tanks and with one shot hit the advancing one. But this time he was not lucky. Shots from the machine guns of the German tanks seriously wounded him in the right shoulder. Unable to fight, he crawled bloodied to the American lines and managed to escape.
Soderman survived. He was even honored with the highest American award, theMedal of Honor, by President Truman in person.
He retired, got married and had two children. He died peacefully in 1980 in his hometown of West Haven, Connecticut. In his honor, in 2000, a US Navy warship was named after him.
