25. The Opening Act of a Hero
With his unit pinned down, Marcelino Serna volunteered to scout an alternate path. However, once he got ahead of his unit, he saw that the enemy position was vulnerable to a flank attack from the left. Without orders, and acting on his own initiative, he used minor and barely perceptible folds and dips in the terrain to alternately crawl and rush to the German position’s left flank.
Braving a torrent of angry bullets buzzing around him, two of which actually struck his helmet, Serna got close enough to the enemy machine gun nest to lob grenades into its midst. He tossed four grenades into the German position, and of its 14 occupants, the commander and five others were killed. Eight stunned German survivors were forced to throw in the towel and come out with their hands up. That was not even Serna’s greatest wartime exploit, but just an opening act.