There were so many incredible stories of bravery and heroism from World War II that we will probably never learn all of them. You could study WWII your entire life and still not discover all there is to know about the fascinating and devastating conflict.
But one tale you should take the time to learn about is the incredible feat pulled off by a U.S. soldier named Moffatt Burriss. In April 1945, Burriss was in Berlin as the war was winding down. He received orders from none other than General Dwight D. Eisenhower himself that he needed to stand down and let Russian troops take control of the city.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
By this point, Burriss had seen heavy combat in the Battle of the Bulge and in battles in Italy and the Netherlands, and he didn’t want to let the Russians take all the credit in Berlin.
Burriss recalled, “I said: ‘I can’t stand this any longer.’ I got in my Jeep with the lieutenant and sergeant and said, ‘Let’s go across the river and see what we can see, see if there are some [krauts] still over there…’”
That’s just the beginning of the tale. Watch the video of Burriss telling the rest of the amazing story in the video below.
After World War II, Burriss went on to become a successful businessman and a politician. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1977 to 1992. Burriss died in January 2019 at the age of 99.
A true American hero!
