{"id":102231,"date":"2026-06-06T10:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=102231"},"modified":"2026-06-06T10:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:40:16","slug":"leonard-funk-medal-of-honor-thompson-holzheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/leonard-funk-medal-of-honor-thompson-holzheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard Funk Laughed at Death and Won the MOH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>16<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outnumbered, nearly surrounded, and staring into the muzzle of a German MP40, 1SG Leonard Funk did the only sensible thing. He started laughing, swung his Thompson, and carved his name into Medal of Honor history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
The Medal of Honor is America\u2019s highest award for valor in the face of the enemy. This particular copy belonged to 1SG Leonard Funk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today we begin a series on Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients, America\u2019s highest award for gallantry in combat. The MOH is a holy thing that is earned only at extreme risk of life in active combat with the enemy. The MOH is the only American military award worn around the neck and is generally presented by the President of the United States in the name of the US Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Medal<\/a>
Those who have earned the Medal of Honor are heroes of the highest order.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First awarded in 1863, there have been 3,522 of the medals distributed. 623 of these were posthumous. While the standards for the award were lax during the American Civil War, in 1918 an act of Congress made the MOH into the justifiably revered thing it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Short, Steely-Eyed Paratrooper Who Refused to Break<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"1SG<\/a>
Like most heroes of his generation, 1SG Leonard Funk arose from humble beginnings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Alfred Funk was born in 1916 in Braddock Township, Pennsylvania. Spending most of the war serving with the 82d Airborne Division, Funk was the most highly decorated American paratrooper of World War 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"World<\/a>
Volunteering for the paratroops would double the pay of an Army private.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Funk enlisted in June of 1941 and volunteered for airborne training the following year. Jump pay during the war was a cool $50 per month. Given that $50 was also the monthly payment for an enlisted Private, this meant serious money for lean Americans raised during the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"82nd<\/a>
Service in a combat unit produced an inimitable bond of fellowship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After completing his jump training, Funk was assigned to Company C of the 1st<\/sup> Battalion of the 508th<\/sup> Parachute Infantry Regiment. He spent the entire war with the 508th<\/sup> and was eventually discharged in June of 1945. Standing only five foot six inches tall, Funk was known as \u201cNapoleon\u201d by his mates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
Promotion came quickly when the entire world was at war.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays it takes many years of service to earn the position of First Sergeant of an Infantry company. In the 1940\u2019s, however, the military was a growth industry. In January 1945, less than four years after his enlistment, Leonard Funk was serving as Top Sergeant in his Airborne Infantry outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1SG<\/a>
1SG Funk had already seen more than his share of action.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By 1945 Leonard Funk was a seasoned veteran. He had jumped into Normandy on D-Day and fought in Operation Market Garden as well as at the Battle of the Bulge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"German<\/a>
These fast-firing 20mm German flak guns could be used against both airborne and terrestrial targets with devastating efficiency.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During Market Garden, Funk and two other American paratroopers attacked and destroyed three fast-firing 20mm antiaircraft guns that were engaging gliders as well as landing Airborne troops. For this action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, America\u2019s second-highest award for bravery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"January<\/a>
1945 saw some of the bitterest fighting of the war.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By January of the final year of the war, Funk found himself in Holzheim, Belgium, in the midst of a running gun battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thompson at War: Heavy, Obsolete, and Still Terrifying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Frozen<\/a>
The winters in northern Europe were pitiless and brutal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Belgian winter was frigid, and Funk and his men were still reeling from their recent pounding during the Battle of the Bulge. On January 25, 1945, 1SG Funk and his company had already advanced fifteen miles in a blinding snowstorm. While preparing to attack through waist-deep snow drifts, the company Executive Officer was hit. 1SG Funk took over his duties and formed a scratch combat element out of headquarters personnel to help shore up the tactical situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"1SG<\/a>
Desperately short on men, 1SG Funk could not afford a proper guard detail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Under fearsome artillery fire, 1SG Funk led his group to assault and seize fifteen houses in close quarters combat. Along the way, they took eighty prisoners as well as the city of Holzheim. Dangerously short on manpower, 1SG Funk left four airborne soldiers to guard this large contingent of captured Germans. The fighting was still raging all around them and four men were all that could be spared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"German<\/a>
Once liberated, the eighty German prisoners Funk\u2019s men had previously captured became a company-sized combat element.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the rest of his unit mopped up pockets of resistance, a German patrol penetrated to the prisoner holding area and successfully captured the four American guards by means of a ruse. The liberated German prisoners began rearming themselves and preparing to attack 1SG Funk\u2019s company from the unprotected rear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"German<\/a>
The ranking German officer threatened 1SG Funk with his MP40 submachine gun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1SG Funk returned to check on the prisoners only to find them free and gunned up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"German<\/a>
The German MP40 was one of the most efficient small arms of the war. Controllable, reliable, and relatively inexpensive, the German burp gun became an icon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A kraut officer immediately shoved an MP40 submachine gun into his gut and began shouting at him in German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Five<\/a>
The five Americans were hopelessly outnumbered.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this point, there were ninety Germans, about half of them with weapons, against five Americans, only one of whom was armed. In the face of such overwhelming odds, Leonard Funk found himself overcome with mirth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
1SG Funk\u2019s hysterical laughter seemed to be contagious.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Funk did not speak German, nor did any of the other four Americans present. He later said he had no idea what the enemy officer was shouting about and he soon found himself laughing hysterically as a result. The absurdity of the moment caused any number of the present Germans to begin laughing themselves. Funk called to his men, \u201cI don\u2019t understand what he\u2019s saying!\u201d before doubling over in comedic rapture. This made the German officer all the more agitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
In a single fluid motion, 1SG Funk swung his Thompson submachine gun up and killed his assailant with a single long burst.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Funk began to slowly unsling his Thompson submachine gun as though he was handing it over to his German captor. In what was described as a lightning motion, the laughing First Sergeant spun his Tommy gun around and riddled the German officer with a full thirty-round burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
In the subsequent gunfight half of the assembled German troops were either killed or wounded.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Funk then dropped his empty magazine and made a quick combat reload before engaging the other armed German soldiers nearby. The remaining four Americans dove onto nearby weapons and a vicious close-quarters firefight ensued. In moments, the five American paratroopers had killed twenty-one Germans at bad breath range. They left another twenty-four wounded. At this, the remaining Germans had had enough, threw down their weapons, and surrendered for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Captured<\/a>
After this trouncing, the captured German Landsers were done for good.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the smoke cleared, 1SG Funk found himself yet again overcome with laughter. Between howls, he exclaimed to his men, \u201cThat was the stupidest f-ing thing I\u2019ve ever seen!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M1A1 Thompson: A Ten-Pound Brick of .45 ACP Violence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"John<\/a>
The Thompson submachine gun, seen here in the hands of its inventor John Taliaferro Thompson, was revolutionary for its era.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Thompson submachine gun first drew breath in 1921, but it was not formally adopted for US service until 1938. Heavy, expensive, and awkward, the Tommy gun was technically already obsolete by the time the US entered WW2. However, it was the only submachine gun available at the time and soldiered on well into Vietnam. The Thompson was not fully purged from US military arms rooms until 1971. We produced around 1.75 million copies all totaled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Early<\/a>
Early 1921 and 1928 Thompsons were elegant though heavy beasts. With a loaded drum in place, they were boat anchors to tote.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The M1921 and M1928 look very similar and can be discerned at a glance by their top-mounted actuators. These guns will accept 50 and 100-round drums and usually but not always include a finned barrel and a Cutts compensator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"M1<\/a>
The simplified M1 and M1A1 Thompsons were the definitive military versions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The later militarized M1 and M1A1 versions were somewhat cheaper to produce and sported an actuator knob on the right side of the receiver. They also included fixed sights and an unadorned muzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Thompson<\/a>
The fire controls on the Thompson were intuitive enough but accessible only when the gun was fired right-handed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Thompson features separate levers for safety and fire control purposes as well as a thumb-activated magazine release. All the controls are configured for right-handed firing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"M1A1<\/a>
The Thompson was a GI favorite despite its flaws.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The recoil vector is substantially higher than the buttstock, so this equates out to muzzle rise. However, the prodigious 10-pound weight of the gun combined with proper technique still keeps the weapon controllable. The latter M1 and M1A1 versions differed solely in the design of their bolts and fed from 20 or 30-round box magazines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Thompson<\/a>
Magazine changes on the Thompson set the standard for everything else.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the Thompson did phenomenally well were magazine changes. Nothing before or since even comes close. The guns fire from the open bolt, but a mechanism built into the magazine follower locks the bolt open on the last round fired. Drop the magazine, slap in a fresh one, and squeeze the trigger to get the gun back in action. Literally, nothing is faster. 1SG Funk put this feature to good use when he did a combat mag change while hosing down his surprised German opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Smoke Cleared, Leonard Funk Had Saved C Company<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"1SG<\/a>
1SG Funk\u2019s quick thinking and aggressive action saved countless American lives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1SG Funk\u2019s instinctive and audacious actions were credited with neutralizing the substantial enemy threat to the company\u2019s rear. Had the Germans not been stopped they could have readily wiped out C Company from behind before support could have arrived. 1SG Leonard Funk earned the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"President<\/a>
President Truman presented the award.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1SG Leonard Funk was a citizen soldier with the heart of a warrior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
Like most heroes of the Greatest Generation, Leonard Funk came home determined to make the world better.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Funk also earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Bronze Star as well as the Purple Heart on three different occasions. He wore the Combat Infantryman Badge and received the Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
Leonard Funk served in the Veteran\u2019s Administration after his return from World War 2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Funk took a job with the Veteran\u2019s Administration after the war and retired in 1972. He died in 1992 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
Leonard Funk was a great example of ordinary men doing extraordinary things. Here he is decorated by General James Gavin, the famous Airborne General.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Greatest Generation showed us what ordinary men could do under extraordinary circumstances. By today\u2019s standards, a soldier of Leonard Funk\u2019s time in service might be a Specialist or buck Sergeant. In 1945, however, this young twenty-nine-year-old sky soldier was a veteran of multiple hard-fought campaigns and some eight months under fire. At a time of truly mind-boggling peril, Leonard Funk responded with uncontrollable laughter and a Thompson submachine gun to defeat the enemy and save his company from near certain destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leonard<\/a>
Leonard Funk rests among the heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

M1A1 Thompson Specifications: The Gun Behind the Laugh<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caliber<\/th>.45ACP<\/td><\/tr>
Weight<\/th>10 pounds<\/td><\/tr>
Length<\/th>31.9 inches<\/td><\/tr>
Barrel Length<\/th>10.52 inches<\/td><\/tr>
Action<\/th>Open-Bolt Blowback<\/td><\/tr>
Rate of Fire<\/th>700-800 rpm<\/td><\/tr>
Feed System<\/th>20 or 30-round Box Magazines<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n