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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Private First Class Foster Joseph Sayers, US Army
Foster Joseph Sayers served as a Private First Class-Machine Gunner in the United States Army in Company L, 357th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on November 12, 1944 near Thionville, France. He was killed in action. Pvt. Sayers hailed from Marsh Creek, Pennsylvania.
This 100-foot high and 1.3 mile long dam forms Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir in Pennsylvania. Completed in 1969, the reservoir is named in honor of Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Foster Joseph Sayers, a Private 1st Class in World War II. The 1,730-acre lake is the focal point for water-based recreation at Bald Eagle State Park.
Recreation facilities are operated and maintained by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). DCNR leases 5,900 acres with the following facilities: beach, marina, picnic areas, boat launches and camping. Howard Borough also leases, operates, and maintains a five-acre community park. Recreation attendance for l996 at Bald Eagle State Park was 1,917,900 visitor hours. Sanitary facilities were constructed under a tri-party agreement among the Commonwealth, the Howard Borough Authority and the federal government.
CITATION:
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company L, 357th Infantry, 90th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Thionville, France, 12 November 1944. Entered service at: Howard, Pa. Birth: Marsh Creek, Pa. G.O. No.: 89, 19 October 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty in combat on 12 November 1944, near Thionville, France. During an attack on strong hostile forces entrenched on a hill he fearlessly ran up the steep approach toward his objective and set up his machinegun 20 yards from the enemy. Realizing it would be necessary to attract full attention of the dug-in Germans while his company crossed an open area and flanked the enemy, he picked up his gun, charged through withering machinegun and rifle fire to the very edge of the emplacement, and there killed 12 German soldiers with devastating close-range fire. He took up a position behind a log and engaged the hostile infantry from the flank in an heroic attempt to distract their attention while his comrades attained their objective at the crest of the hill. He was killed by the very heavy concentration of return fire; but his fearless assault enabled his company to sweep the hill with minimum of casualties, killing or capturing every enemy soldier on it. Pfc. Sayers' indomitable fighting spirit, aggressiveness, and supreme devotion to duty live on as an example of the highest traditions of the military service.
Courtesy of Find A Grave
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