Lee had just celebrated his 27th birthday on the same day that the Hogan TF, of which he was a member, heard nothing from its leader, who had left to report in the direction of SOY on December 21, 1944.
Like everyone else, he was to experience the fighting at Beffe and the encirclement of the Taskforce in the village of Marcouray.
On the evening of December 25, 1944, after the colonel refused to surrender to the Germans, orders were given to disable all vehicles and tanks still in fighting condition, and to join the American troops 16 km to the north, through enemy lines.
Lee was part of the leading group of this “escape” column, and after several hours of stealthy marching in the snow, the group came upon a German sentry.
SGT Lee Brenson Porter took it upon himself to break away from the column, sneak up on the sentry and neutralize him with his bayonet.
This heroic act saved the entire column from certain capture (or even death – see Malmedy Massacre).
All the officers present that evening touted Lee’s feats of arms in a citation file for a possible medal.
The PORTER Family.
A true American military family , the PORTER family can also be proud of the service rendered to the nation by Lee’s two brothers .
Loyd served in the Medical Corp on the Pacific front against the Japanese Empire, surviving the war.
Roy joined the paratroopers of the 17th Airborne, and took part in Operation Varsity in March 1945, where he lost his life.
7 months have passed, but on this June 26, 1945 in Weisbaden, Germany, the war in Europe has been over for a month.
And on that day, on behalf of His Majesty the King, Field Marshal Montgomery awarded the British Medal to Staff Sergeant Lee Brenson Porter of the 83rd Armored Recon Bat. for his heroic deed on the night of December 25, 1944, the night of Hogan’s 400.