| Chris Carr | |
| Birth Date: | 6 April 1914 |
| Birth Place: | Manchester, New Hampshire, US |
| Death Place: | Huntington Beach, California, US |
| Placeofburial: | Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, California |
| Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
| Allegiance: | United States |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1942–1953[1] |
| Rank: | Sergeant First Class |
| Unit: | 337th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division |
| Battles: | World War II Korean War |
| Awards: | Medal of Honor |
Chris Carr (born Christos H. Karaberis, April 6, 1914 – September 16, 1970) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.
Carr was born Christos H. Karaberis in Manchester, New Hampshire. He joined the Army from his hometown in October 1942[2] and by October 1, 1944, was serving as a sergeant in Company L, 337th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division. On that day and the following day, near Guignola, Italy, he single-handedly attacked and captured five German machine gun emplacements. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later on November 1, 1945.After the war, he legally changed his name from "Christos Karaberis" to "Chris Carr". He reached the rank of sergeant first class and served in the Korean War before leaving the Army.
Carr died at age 56 and was buried in Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.
Carr's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Citation
Leading a squad of Company L, he gallantly cleared the way for his company's approach along a ridge toward its objective, the Casoni di Remagna. When his platoon was pinned down by heavy fire from enemy mortars, machineguns, machine pistols, and rifles, he climbed in advance of his squad on a maneuver around the left flank to locate and eliminate the enemy gun positions. Undeterred by deadly fire that ricocheted off the barren rocky hillside, he crept to the rear of the first machinegun and charged, firing his submachinegun. In this surprise attack he captured 8 prisoners and turned them over to his squad before striking out alone for a second machinegun. Discovered in his advance and subjected to direct fire from the hostile weapon, he leaped to his feet and ran forward, weaving and crouching, pouring automatic fire into the emplacement that killed 4 of its defenders and forced the surrender of a lone survivor. He again moved forward through heavy fire to attack a third machinegun. When close to the emplacement, he closed with a nerve-shattering shout and burst of fire. Paralyzed by his whirlwind attack, all 4 gunners immediately surrendered. Once more advancing aggressively in the face of a thoroughly alerted enemy, he approached a point of high ground occupied by 2 machineguns which were firing on his company on the slope below. Charging the first of these weapons, he killed 4 of the crew and captured 3 more. The 6 defenders of the adjacent position, cowed by the savagery of his assault, immediately gave up. By his l-man attack, heroically and voluntarily undertaken in the face of tremendous risks, Sgt. Karaberis captured 5 enemy machinegun positions, killed 8 Germans, took 22 prisoners, cleared the ridge leading to his company's objective, and drove a deep wedge into the enemy line, making it possible for his battalion to occupy important, commanding ground.
Carr's awards include the following:
| Badge | Combat Infantryman Badge | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Row | Medal of Honor | ||||||||||||
| 2nd Row | Bronze Star | Army Good Conduct Medal | American Campaign Medal | ||||||||||
| 3rd Row | European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal | World War II Victory Medal | National Defense Service Medal | ||||||||||
| 4th Row | Korean Service Medal | United Nations Korea Medal | Korean War Service Medal | ||||||||||
| Badge | Expert Marksmanship Badge | ||||||||||||
| Unit award | Army Presidential Unit Citation | ||||||||||||