Vito R. Bertoldo

Vito Rocco Bertoldo (December 1, 1916 – July 23, 1966) was a United States Army soldier. A veteran of World War II, he was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions near Hatten, France, in January 1945.
Bertoldo was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois, and worked as a coal miner and truck driver. Though he was exempt from the World War II draft because of poor eyesight, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942, and was approved for limited duty in the United States as a military policeman. He then obtained approval to undergo training as an infantryman, and deployed to France with the 42nd Infantry Division. During Germany’s Operation Nordwind offensive of December 1944-January 1945, Bertoldo was one of the soldiers assigned to guard the command post (CP) for 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry Regiment. When the battalion staff moved to an alternate location while expecting a German attack, Bertoldo volunteered to cover them and defend the CP. On January 9 and 10, 1945, he single-handedly fought off German assaults on the command post, and then continued the fight by taking part in the defense of the battalion’s alternate CP. After the war, he received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during this action.
Following his military service, Bertoldo moved to California and worked as a contact representative for the U.S. Veterans Administration before becoming the owner and operator of a successful landscaping business. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1966 and died at the VA hospital in Martinez, California. Bertoldo was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California