User:Andrew1Chaney/sandbox

Fox was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 18, 1915. He was raised in Wyoming, Ohio and attended Wilberforce University, participating in ROTC under Aaron R. Fisher and graduating with a commission as a second lieutenant in 1940. He was 29 years old when he called artillery fire on his own position the day after Christmas in 1944; in 1982 he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. More than fifty years after his death, Fox was awarded the Medal of Honor. He is buried in Colebrook Cemetery in Whitman, Massachusetts.

In the early 1990s it was determined that African-American soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor because of their race. In 1993 the US Army contracted Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina to research and determine if there was racial disparity in the review process for recipients of the Medal of Honor. Shaw University ultimately found that there was racial disparity and recommended a list of ten deserving African American soldiers to be reviewed for the Medal of Honor. Seven of the ten recommended soldiers were found deserving of the award, and on October, 1996 Congress passed legislation that would allow President Bill Clinton to award the Medal of Honor to these soldiers nearly fifty years later.

The 92nd Infantry Division (colored), known as the Buffalo Soldiers, was a segregated African-American division that fought in World War II. First Lieutenant John R. Fox was a member of the 366th Infantry Regiment and was serving as a forward observer in the 598th Artillery Battalion when he sacrificed his life to defeat an enemy attack and save the lives of others. In December 1944, Fox was part of a small forward observer party that volunteered to stay behind in the Italian village of Sommocolonia, in the Serchio River Valley. American forces had been forced to withdraw from the village after it had been overrun by the Germans. From his position on the second floor of a house, Fox directed defensive artillery fire. Wehrmacht soldiers were attacking in strength, greatly outnumbering the handful of Americans. Fox radioed the artillery to bring its fire closer to his position. As the attack continued, he ordered the fire directed onto his own position. The soldier who received the message was stunned, as there was little chance that Fox would survive it. Fox simply replied, "Fire it."

Fox's sacrifice gained time for the U.S. forces to organize a counterattack and retake the village. To this day Sommocolonians are grateful for John R. Fox's sacrifice and have even dedicated a peace park in honor of Lieutenant Fox's and his unit.

During World War II there were no African Americans that had received the Medal of Honor.

After the war, the citizens of Sommocolonia, Italy erected a monument to nine men who were killed during the artillery barrage – eight Italian soldiers, and Lieutenant Fox.

In 2005, the toy company Hasbro introduced a 12-inch action figure "commemorating Lt. John R. Fox as part of its G.I. Joe Medal-of-Honor series."

On July 16, 2000 the Italian village of Sommocolonia dedicated a peace park in memory of Lieutenant John R. Fox and his unit.