After North Africa, his unit was sent to Italy where he was a sergeant and machine gun section leader. He was awarded a Silver Star for action there on May 31, 1944.
On October 24, 1944, Coolidge was a technical sergeant in charge of a group of machine gunners and riflemen of M Company and were ordered to hold a vital hilltop position in France near the German border.
During four days of attacks at Hill 623, east of Belmont-sur-Buttant in France, Coolidge and his group held off numerous enemy infantrymen, plus two tanks on October 27 using grenades. One tank unsuccessfully fired five separate rounds directly at Coolidge.
For his actions above and beyond the call of duty during the battle, Coolidge was presented the Medal of Honor by Lieutenant General Wade H. Haislip during a ceremony at an airfield near Domstadt, Germany, on June 18, 1945.
He is interred at the Chattanooga National Cemetery beside his wife.
--GreGen
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