July 1, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, John Robert Fox's last recorded words, radioed from his hideout in the besieged Italian mountain village of Sommocolonia, were: "Fire it! There's more of them than there are of us. Give them hell!" Seconds later, Allied artillery rained down on both him and the advancing German troops. For his heroic actions, First Lt. Fox was posthumously awarded our nation's highest honor for valor—the Medal of Honor. But that recognition wouldn’t come until decades later. Kirk Higgins of the Bill of Rights Institute shares the story.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next a
story on one of the seven African Americans to receive
our nation's highest award for valor in World War Two,
the Congressional Medal of Honor. Here to tell the story
of Lieutenant John Robert Fox is Kirk Higgins, the senior
director of content at the Bill of Rights Institute. Let's
(00:32):
get into the story. Take it away, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It was the day after Christmas nineteen forty four. In
the Pitch battles of World War II were still raging.
The Germans would not surrender to Allied forces for another
five months. In Italy, a fighting remained fierce. A US
(01:08):
Army lieutenant from an all Black regiment was perched on
the second floor of a house in the village of
some Colonia. German forces were overrunning the village, but the
brave lieutenant volunteered to stay behind in direct artillery fire
from his second story location. Allied forces bombarded the Germans
with the lieutenant's help, but the German forces continued to advance. Finally,
(01:32):
as enemy soldiers closed in on his position, Lieutenant John
Robert Fox made a fateful call, firing, there's more of
them than their area, give them health. He radio did
an artillery strike on his own position, knowing it may
cost him his life. John Robert Fox was born in Cincinnati,
(01:59):
ohioineteen fifteen, the oldest of three sons. He had a
keen interest in science and began his college studies at
the Ohio State University, but he transferred to Wilberforce University,
a historically black college, because it was one of the
few schools that would allow black students to participate in
an ROTC program. Fox graduated with a degree in engineering
(02:19):
and in nineteen forty one received a commission as a
lieutenant in the U. S. Army. Just months later, America
would be drawn into World War II after the attack
on Pearl Harvard. Fox was assigned to the all black
three hundred and sixty sixth Infantry at Fort Devns in
(02:41):
Massachusetts for artillery training. In nineteen forty two and nineteen
forty three, Fox and his unit were stationed at various
locations in New England, guarding against possible sabotage from the Germans.
Fox was far from the fighting at that time, but
it wouldn't last. In March nineteen forty four, Fox in
the three hundred and sixty sixth Infantry were ordered overseas,
(03:04):
first to Morocco and Algeria, and then to support the
fighting in Italy. It was during this Italian campaign that
Fox would become part of American history. By nineteen forty four,
several major fronts had been opened in the European theater.
On June sixth, Operation Overlord had successfully landed hundreds of
(03:25):
thousands of Allied soldiers on the shores of Normandy, France,
and the Soviet Union was relentlessly attacking from the east,
pushing the Germans back. But another less well known campaign
was being waged on the Italian peninsula. Operations in Italy
had begun with the invasion of Sicily in July of
nineteen forty three. By December nineteen forty four, Allied forces
(03:47):
had advanced well into non Italy. There the exhausted Allied
troops were holding their positions and preparing to attack when
better weather arrived in the spring. Unfortunately, German forces had
abed us. On Christmas night of nineteen forty four, Lieutenant
John Robert Fox found himself in the village of some Colonia.
(04:08):
The village was on top of a rocky outcropping which
gave a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Some Colonia
is a small village, but strategically it was very important.
It was part of a massive defensive network that had
been built by the Germans, known as the Gothic Line.
The Gothic Line featured two thousand fortified positions, machine gun
(04:29):
and placements, and stretched the width of northern Italy. It
was the final major obstacle standing between the Allies and
a push into the southern German frontier. Fox's battalion, about
one thousand men strong, had been ordered to hold the
Germans along a thirty mile section in front. This meant
they were stretched precariously thin, and the Germans sensed an
(04:50):
opportunity to attack. Fox had taken a position in a
house with a good view of the surrounding countryside, from
which he could radio coordinatece for artillery fire. He went
to sleep that Christmas night, cold but confident in his position.
But when he awoke on December twenty sixth, nineteen forty four,
the situation had changed completely. During the evening, Germans, dressed
(05:20):
in civilian clothing, had infiltrated and taken significant portions of
the town in the early morning hours, they launched an
artillery barrage. The Allied forces were caught off guard and
knew the situation was untenable. They began to retreat, but
not the Lieutenant John Robert Fox. Fox from his position
(05:43):
the second story of a village house at the best
view of the advancing Germans. He knew that if he
stayed behind, he could call in defensive artillery fire and maybe,
with some luck, the Allies would delay to Germans, regroup
and repel the attack. As the German advance, Fox began
to call down devastating an accurate barragees artillery. The German
(06:05):
forces were slowed, but not stopped. As they continued to advance.
Fox called in artillery strikes closer and closer to this
two story house. When he was hold up. That was
just where I wanted it, Fox told his Battalian committer,
after one artillery strike fring it in sixty yards. Finally,
with the Germans nearly on top of him, John Robert
(06:25):
Fox made a fateful and courageous decision. He called in
an artillery strike on his own position, ending the transmission
by encouraging Allied forces to give them hell. The guns
fired with deadly accuracy, killing both enemy troops and Fox himself.
(06:52):
Fox's heroism helped stall the German advance and allowed more
American troops and Italian civilians to retreat to safety. A
week later, American troops retook some of Colonia. When they did,
they found Fox's body among those of more than one
hundred enemy soldiers. Lieutenant John Robert Fox had died a hero,
but the journey to recognize him for his heroism was
(07:14):
long and difficult. It would last more than fifty years.
In nineteen forty five, Fox was recommended for the Distinguished
Service Cross, the second highest award given by the United
States Army, but he did not receive the award, not
for a very long time, and unfortunately, Fox's situation was
common for decades. Black soldiers were denied awards and recognition
(07:36):
they had rightfully earned on the battlefields. In fact, no
black soldiers were initially awarded the Medal of Honor after
War II. In nineteen eighty two, thirty eight years after
his historic sacrifice, John Robert Fox began to receive his
long overdue recognition. That year, he was finally posthumously awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross. Then, in the early nineteen nineties,
(07:59):
the US Department of Defense begin to study whether black
soldiers had been unfairly denied the Medal of Honor, America's
highest military honor. Seven black soldiers were ultimately recommended for
the award, including John Robert Fox. On January thirteenth, nineteen
ninety seven, President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor
to Fox's widow, Arley Fox. Fox's Medal of Honor citation reads,
(08:24):
first Lieutenant John R. Fox distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism
at the risk of his own life on twenty sixth
December nineteen forty four. Lieutenant Fox's extraordinarily valorous actions exemplify
the highest traditions of the military service. More than fifty
years after his death, Fox's story was being fully told,
(08:45):
and he received the recognition he had long deserved. Today,
a white stone marker sits in the village of some
of Colombia, Italy, marking the place where Lieutenant John Robert
Fox sacrificed his life calling in an artillery strike on
his own position to halt a German advance. It is
a lasting testament to the courage and selflessness of a
man who knowingly put himself at great risk and ultimately
(09:07):
gave his life to save others.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Monty Montgomery, and a special thanks to
Kirk Higgins for telling this story and to the Bill
of Rights Institute to find out more about the great
work they do. To check out their wonderful curriculum for students,
go to mybri dot org. That's mybri dot org. And
(09:34):
what a story we were told Lieutenant John Robert Fox
ordering a strike on his own location for the benefit
of the Allied command. The story of Lieutenant John Robert
Fox here on our American Stories
And we returned to our American stories. Up next a
story on one of the seven African Americans to receive
our nation's highest award for valor in World War Two,
the Congressional Medal of Honor. Here to tell the story
of Lieutenant John Robert Fox is Kirk Higgins, the senior
director of content at the Bill of Rights Institute. Let's
(00:32):
get into the story. Take it away, Kirk.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It was the day after Christmas nineteen forty four. In
the Pitch battles of World War II were still raging.
The Germans would not surrender to Allied forces for another
five months. In Italy, a fighting remained fierce. A US
(01:08):
Army lieutenant from an all Black regiment was perched on
the second floor of a house in the village of
some Colonia. German forces were overrunning the village, but the
brave lieutenant volunteered to stay behind in direct artillery fire
from his second story location. Allied forces bombarded the Germans
with the lieutenant's help, but the German forces continued to advance. Finally,
(01:32):
as enemy soldiers closed in on his position, Lieutenant John
Robert Fox made a fateful call, firing, there's more of
them than their area, give them health. He radio did
an artillery strike on his own position, knowing it may
cost him his life. John Robert Fox was born in Cincinnati,
(01:59):
ohioineteen fifteen, the oldest of three sons. He had a
keen interest in science and began his college studies at
the Ohio State University, but he transferred to Wilberforce University,
a historically black college, because it was one of the
few schools that would allow black students to participate in
an ROTC program. Fox graduated with a degree in engineering
(02:19):
and in nineteen forty one received a commission as a
lieutenant in the U. S. Army. Just months later, America
would be drawn into World War II after the attack
on Pearl Harvard. Fox was assigned to the all black
three hundred and sixty sixth Infantry at Fort Devns in
(02:41):
Massachusetts for artillery training. In nineteen forty two and nineteen
forty three, Fox and his unit were stationed at various
locations in New England, guarding against possible sabotage from the Germans.
Fox was far from the fighting at that time, but
it wouldn't last. In March nineteen forty four, Fox in
the three hundred and sixty sixth Infantry were ordered overseas,
(03:04):
first to Morocco and Algeria, and then to support the
fighting in Italy. It was during this Italian campaign that
Fox would become part of American history. By nineteen forty four,
several major fronts had been opened in the European theater.
On June sixth, Operation Overlord had successfully landed hundreds of
(03:25):
thousands of Allied soldiers on the shores of Normandy, France,
and the Soviet Union was relentlessly attacking from the east,
pushing the Germans back. But another less well known campaign
was being waged on the Italian peninsula. Operations in Italy
had begun with the invasion of Sicily in July of
nineteen forty three. By December nineteen forty four, Allied forces
(03:47):
had advanced well into non Italy. There the exhausted Allied
troops were holding their positions and preparing to attack when
better weather arrived in the spring. Unfortunately, German forces had
abed us. On Christmas night of nineteen forty four, Lieutenant
John Robert Fox found himself in the village of some Colonia.
(04:08):
The village was on top of a rocky outcropping which
gave a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Some Colonia
is a small village, but strategically it was very important.
It was part of a massive defensive network that had
been built by the Germans, known as the Gothic Line.
The Gothic Line featured two thousand fortified positions, machine gun
(04:29):
and placements, and stretched the width of northern Italy. It
was the final major obstacle standing between the Allies and
a push into the southern German frontier. Fox's battalion, about
one thousand men strong, had been ordered to hold the
Germans along a thirty mile section in front. This meant
they were stretched precariously thin, and the Germans sensed an
(04:50):
opportunity to attack. Fox had taken a position in a
house with a good view of the surrounding countryside, from
which he could radio coordinatece for artillery fire. He went
to sleep that Christmas night, cold but confident in his position.
But when he awoke on December twenty sixth, nineteen forty four,
the situation had changed completely. During the evening, Germans, dressed
(05:20):
in civilian clothing, had infiltrated and taken significant portions of
the town in the early morning hours, they launched an
artillery barrage. The Allied forces were caught off guard and
knew the situation was untenable. They began to retreat, but
not the Lieutenant John Robert Fox. Fox from his position
(05:43):
the second story of a village house at the best
view of the advancing Germans. He knew that if he
stayed behind, he could call in defensive artillery fire and maybe,
with some luck, the Allies would delay to Germans, regroup
and repel the attack. As the German advance, Fox began
to call down devastating an accurate barragees artillery. The German
(06:05):
forces were slowed, but not stopped. As they continued to advance.
Fox called in artillery strikes closer and closer to this
two story house. When he was hold up. That was
just where I wanted it, Fox told his Battalian committer,
after one artillery strike fring it in sixty yards. Finally,
with the Germans nearly on top of him, John Robert
(06:25):
Fox made a fateful and courageous decision. He called in
an artillery strike on his own position, ending the transmission
by encouraging Allied forces to give them hell. The guns
fired with deadly accuracy, killing both enemy troops and Fox himself.
(06:52):
Fox's heroism helped stall the German advance and allowed more
American troops and Italian civilians to retreat to safety. A
week later, American troops retook some of Colonia. When they did,
they found Fox's body among those of more than one
hundred enemy soldiers. Lieutenant John Robert Fox had died a hero,
but the journey to recognize him for his heroism was
(07:14):
long and difficult. It would last more than fifty years.
In nineteen forty five, Fox was recommended for the Distinguished
Service Cross, the second highest award given by the United
States Army, but he did not receive the award, not
for a very long time, and unfortunately, Fox's situation was
common for decades. Black soldiers were denied awards and recognition
(07:36):
they had rightfully earned on the battlefields. In fact, no
black soldiers were initially awarded the Medal of Honor after
War II. In nineteen eighty two, thirty eight years after
his historic sacrifice, John Robert Fox began to receive his
long overdue recognition. That year, he was finally posthumously awarded
the Distinguished Service Cross. Then, in the early nineteen nineties,
(07:59):
the US Department of Defense begin to study whether black
soldiers had been unfairly denied the Medal of Honor, America's
highest military honor. Seven black soldiers were ultimately recommended for
the award, including John Robert Fox. On January thirteenth, nineteen
ninety seven, President Bill Clinton presented the Medal of Honor
to Fox's widow, Arley Fox. Fox's Medal of Honor citation reads,
(08:24):
first Lieutenant John R. Fox distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism
at the risk of his own life on twenty sixth
December nineteen forty four. Lieutenant Fox's extraordinarily valorous actions exemplify
the highest traditions of the military service. More than fifty
years after his death, Fox's story was being fully told,
(08:45):
and he received the recognition he had long deserved. Today,
a white stone marker sits in the village of some
of Colombia, Italy, marking the place where Lieutenant John Robert
Fox sacrificed his life calling in an artillery strike on
his own position to halt a German advance. It is
a lasting testament to the courage and selflessness of a
man who knowingly put himself at great risk and ultimately
(09:07):
gave his life to save others.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Monty Montgomery, and a special thanks to
Kirk Higgins for telling this story and to the Bill
of Rights Institute to find out more about the great
work they do. To check out their wonderful curriculum for students,
go to mybri dot org. That's mybri dot org. And
(09:34):
what a story we were told Lieutenant John Robert Fox
ordering a strike on his own location for the benefit
of the Allied command. The story of Lieutenant John Robert
Fox here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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