Keyser in Mineral County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
The Medal of Honor
Photographed by Craig Doda, August 1, 2026
1. The Medal of Honor Marker
Staff Sergeant Jonah “Ed” Kelley
“Single handedly, Kelley shortened the war in Germany by several months.”
General Dwight David Eisenhower
In charge of the leading squad of Company E, he heroically spearheaded the attack in furious house-to-house fighting. Early on 30 January, he led his men through intense mortar and small arms fire in repeated assaults on barricaded houses. Although twice wounded, once when struck in the back, the second time when a mortar shell fragment passed through his left hand and rendered it practically useless, he refused to withdraw and continued to lead his squad after hasty dressings had been applied. His serious wounds forced him to fire his rifle with 1 hand, resting it on rubble or over his left forearm. To blast his way forward with hand grenades, he set aside his rifle to pull the pins with his teeth while grasping the missiles with his good hand. Despite these handicaps he created tremendous havoc in the enemy ranks. He rushed 1 house, killing 3 of the enemy and clearing the way for his squad to advance. On approaching the next house, he was fired upon from an upstairs window.
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Photographed by Craig Doda, August 1, 2026
2. The Medal of Honor Marker
The Battle for Kesternich January 30-31, 1945
“No battle has ever been fought that tried harder the souls of men than this battle for Kesternich”
Official History of the 78th Division
For the US, the task was “the most vital at that time on the entire Western Front,” taking the Schwammenauel Dam on the Roer. After being pushed back from the Ardennes, the German interest in Kesternich took another twist. Kesternich, and its prominent position in the Monshau Corridor, proved to be the last good defensive position for the Germans before the Schwammenauel Dam.
The morning of January 30 was bleak and freezing. A full-scale blizzard blew in from the west, and continued all day. The men were dressed in white camouflage, and had to place white tape on their rifle stocks so the rifles wouldn’t give them away. They got up at 3 a.m., grenades were passed out, and by 5 a.m. they filed out of their foxholes and cellars to the forward positions. At 5:30 a.m., the battle of Kesternich began.
The Germans had over six weeks to prepare and strengthen the town and their positions. They neglected nothing. There were mines, barbed wire, traps ingeniously placed machine guns -- some fired by a string from an adjacent building. Infantry stubbornly defended every building, over 120 in all, with automatic weapons, grenades and rifles. Numerous anti-tank guns blocked the way, and the freezing weather coupled with over two feet of snow favored the entrenched Germans.
The death toll climbed alarmingly high right from the start, and US medics scrambled to evacuate the numerous wounded in the bitter cold. The mercury dropped so low that weapons began to freeze and jam. Tanks were lost in large numbers due to cleverly laid minefields; others bogged down in the snow. The 78th knew Kesternich was a now-or-never situation – the entire US front was on the move, and this terrain was key to overall success. Fighting raged inch-by-inch, rubble heap to rubble heap throughout the day.
In a battle that was stalled at times, where not a single house was left standing at day’s end, and when the action of each man could determine the fate of hundreds – perhaps thousands – one man, Ed Kelley, took action, and gave his life for ultimate success at Kesternich. His deeds are best told by the honor – his country’s highest honor – which was bestowed on him posthumously.
The Aftermath of Kesternich February, 1945
The reason the fighting over Kesternich was so fierce became evident upon Ed Kelley’s death and the final taking of the town – US artillery observers found they could direct observed fire on all remaining German positions to the west from Kesternich.
By February 1, the fight for Kesternich was over. Both sides incurred heavy casualties, but the American objective to pave the way to Schmidt and the Schwammenauel Dam was complete. For action under the most extreme circumstances and opposition, two Battalions in the 311th were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.
With the capture of Kesternich, the momentum of the 78th Division began to build. Within days, the towns of Dedenborn and Ruhrberg were captured, clearing the way for Schmidt, the guardian town of the Schwammenauel Dam. The urgency of the capture of the Dam cannot be overstated, as all Allied operations downstream on the Roer were at a standstill until the Dam was under US control. By unleashing the 22 billions of gallons of water the massive Dam held, the Germans could have sent an 18 foot high wall of water down the valley, washing away any major crossing of the river and hopes of Allied victory to the east.
Instead, the Allies were now in a position to exploit their successes. Just seven days after Ed Kelley died, the Schwammenauel Dam was in US hands. Holding the high ground of Kesternich and controlling the waterways, the Allies moved faster than the Germans anticipated, precipitating what was to become the most significant event of the War since D-Day.
Having restored the offensive spirit, Kelley’s actions hastened an unimaginable mistake by the Germans, one that would prove fatal to the entire Nazi effort - - the capture of the Bridge at Remagen.
Germans Retreat February – March 1945
Had the assault on Kesternich failed January 30 – 31, “further winter operations against the enemy on the northern front would have been impossible.” When Ed Kelley and the 78th Division silenced the German guns at Kesternich, they unlocked the door to success in the Rhineland Campaign. The Allies now moved with confidence and daring speed.
The town of Schmidt, the Schwammenauel Dam, the Colmar plain - - all fell in a matter of days. Allied momentum was building for the assault on the Ruhr Valley, and what was needed was a way across the mighty Rhine River. Knowing the Germans would not leave a bridge across the Rhine standing, Eisenhower had planned to take the entire western bank of the Rhine, and then begin bridging operations (under British General Montgomery) north of the Ruhr to launch the Allied main attack. But the events following Kesternich in the south would change Eisenhower’s strategy, and dramatically shorten the war.
Following the landing at D-Day, the single most important event in the Allied drive on Berlin was the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge, commonly known as the “Bridge at Remagen.” Made of the best German steel, and named after the famous WWI leader, General Erich von Ludendorff, it was one of the finest spans over the Rhine. Thought built in WWI to allow Germans to strike west into Belgium and France, because of the actions of the 78th Division, it would soon become the main artery for Allied Forces striking east at the heart of Germany.
The Bridge at Remagen
“The whole Allied force is delighted to cheer the U.S. First Army whose speed and boldness have won the race to establish our first bridgehead over the Rhine. Please tell all ranks how proud I am.”
Eisenhower
With the 78th across, the US toehold became a foothold, and what had only been a dream had suddenly become a reality. Eisenhower stood in disbelief that his forces were now pushing forward on the eastern shore of the Rhine, months ahead of when his staff had planned.
For nine days the battered Bridge remained standing, allowing US Forces to pour into Germany. The 311th, 78th Division was the first Regiment across, and as their bridgehead expanded, US Forces constructed six pontoon bridges adjacent to it, to ensure a steady flow of men and supplies across the Rhine. Continuously rocked by German attacks, the vibrations of US vehicles, and the effects of the initial German attempt at demolition, on March 17th, the Bridge at Remagen finally fell. But it had served its purpose - - American Forces were now spearheading an attack on the “Berlin side of the Rhine,” riding the coat tails of the 78th as it blazed the way into the heart of Germany.
Ken Heckler took first-hand accounts and conducted extensive interviews with the soldiers who took the Bridge, and wrote the premiere account of the event. Again, Hollywood has also provided a visual account of the extraordinary event based on Heckler’s book “The Bridge at Remagen.” Ken Heckler was the Keynote speaker at the annual Ed Kelley memorial in 1991.
The Bridge at Remagen
“Worth its weight in gold”
Lieutenant General, Walter Smith
“Rounding the bend in the road, he emerged from the woods and found himself confronted by a breath-taking view - - the prize no man dared hope for - - the Ludendorff Bridge, still intact, spanning the Rhine.” This is how Ken Heckler military historian on the scene (and later Congressman and Secretary of State for West Virginia), would describe Lieutenant Timmerman’s excitement on that fateful day of March 7, 1945.
Ironically, Timmerman had been born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, just 100 miles from Remagen. His mother was a German war bride from WWI, and she currently had several brothers fighting in Hitler’s Army. But, her oldest two sons were now fighting for the U.S. and one was about to become the first officer to attack across the Rhine since Napoleon. LT Timmerman had just taken command the day before and fate now handed him the chance to make history.
The Bridge at Remagen was still standing on March 7 due to German confusion caused by American aggressiveness. Just three days earlier, Germans had blown two other bridges across the Rhine, one with US soldiers starting across it. Hitler had given orders not to leave a bridge standing across the Rhine, but he had also ordered his forces to hold the lines west of the Rhine.
In the fog of war, such orders give little room for error. Blowing a bridge is one of the toughest decisions in war. There is such finality to it, stranding people on both sides of a large natural barrier. The conflict, the confusion, the hesitation, was all that the US Forces needed.
Following Kesternich, the Germans were on the run. When LT Timmerman (9th Armored Division) and other US Forces (including the 78th) arrived on the hills around the town before some of the retreating Germans, the Germans were in a bind. The Bridge Garrison did not want to destroy the Bridge with thousands of Germans still in need of crossing.
On the American side, there were also conflicting orders. The Combat Commander, Brigadier General Hoge, had been told, “When you get to the Rhine, turn south and hook up with Patton’s Army.” At first, US soldiers wanted to shell the retreating Germans on the Bridge, but when Hoge saw the Bridge, his gut told him differently. In spite of his orders, Hoge’s American ingenuity told him this opportunity was too good to pass up - - he gave Timmerman orders to seize it instead.
“Fate has mocked us, and black magic fights on the other side.”
Sense of hopelessness collectively felt by German Commanders and their staff after Remagen.
For the Germans at Remagen, things went terribly wrong. First, the rapidly approaching Americans pushed the Germans against the Rhine, creating a huge traffic jam of German soldiers, vehicles, equipment, and civilians (including domestic and farm animals, waiting to go across the bridge. Second, the unit occupying the most advantageous terrain in the vicinity of Remagen, the Erpeler Ley (the extremely high mountain directly overlooking the eastern end of the Bridge), was ordered to Koblenz on March 6th. When this incredible oversight came to the attention of Captain Bratge, the German officer in charge of the Bridge on the morning of the 7th, he barked orders to the anti-aircraft gun commander to man the Erpeler Ley. Perhaps the dressing down of a “lordly Luftwaffe officer” by an infantry commander affected the speed of the execution, because when the Americans arrived, the observation point remained unmanned.
But most damaging of all, at 11:00 a.m. when the explosives arrived to be used in destroying the Bridge, there were only 300 kilograms as opposed to the 600 requested, and it was a weaker industrial explosive, not the standard military type. And finally at 11:15 a.m., SS officer unfamiliar with the situation and operations at the Bridge, Major Scheller, replaced Captain Bratge. Though relieved that higher headquarters was now paying attention to his plight, Bratge was devastated to learn Major Scheller did not bring with him the two battalions Bratge thought necessary to defend the Bridge.
German engineers went to work placing the explosives on the Bridge, ensuring there were multiple means to detonate the charge. By 11:25, US Forces began attacking in the hills, and had started their descent into Remagen. By 12:50 p.m., Bratge and Scheller could hear US soldiers firing inside Remagen. The explosives were then in place, but Scheller knew several thousand German soldiers still planned to use the Bridge and a valuable artillery unit was now enroute to Remagen. He denied the Engineers request to blow the Bridge. At 2:00p.m., US tank and infantry fire was beginning to hit targets on the Bridge. When the German Engineers saw the first US helmets, they fired the preliminary charge, blowing a 30-foot crater across the Bridge approach. By 3:00 p.m., US tank and infantry began lining the western bank, hammering the eastern shore with fire. Rumors spread among the US Forces that the Germans planned to blow the Bridge at 4 p.m., increasing the urgency to take the Bridge immediately.
Inside the Erple Tunnel on the German side, the German Engineers told everyone to open their mouths so as to protect their eardrums. Under intense fire, at 3:20 p.m., Major Scheller gave the order to blow the Bridge. The Engineer in charge turned the key, but nothing happened. Frantically, he sent his men out to fix the wiring. They got no further than the tunnel entrance before being turned back by US fire. Finally, one of his men volunteered to run out unto the Bridge and light the primer cord by hand. Back on the western shore, LT Timmerman began to give his men the order to move across the Bridge. Suddenly, a deafening roar blazed through the valley, and the Bridge lifted up off its foundation. The hand detonator had worked.
“Thank God, now we won’t have to cross the damned thing,” one GI said. Then, as the smoke cleared, to everyone’s amazement - - German and American alike - - the Bridge settled back down on its foundations. It was still standing.
The Bridge at Remagen March 7, 1945
“The most expensive real estate in the world”
While the Germans tried to frantically reset the charges, American assertiveness took over. The on-scene commander, LT Timmerman began to send his men up onto the Bridge. He followed, right behind the first few men. One soldier, Joe DeLisio, moved faster than all the others, acting on the theory “if you advance fast, enough you won’t get hit.” In fact, he ran right past the towers on the eastern side from which the Germans were firing. When someone yelled “Who’s gonna clean out that tower?” DeLisio took it as a challenge.
Climbing on the top of the tower, DeLisio single-handedly took five Germans prisoner. Not wanting to have DeLisio stranded alone on the eastern side, Drabik took off at a run, ducking and weaving. When DeLisio threw the Germans’ machine gun out a window into the river, many soldiers pinned down on the Bridge now began to move with confidence. By now, Drabik was at a dead run, and did not even stop to pick up his helmet when it bounced off his head. Thus, Drabik became the first man to reach the other side, followed closely by nine others, including Timmerman. Such was the thinking and camaraderie that carried the first US soldiers across the Bridge at Remagen.
Commanders up through Bradley and Eisenhower were amazed at the development at the Bridge, and immediately began diverting all available units toward Remagen. The 78th was one of two Infantry Divisions already in Remagen, and before daylight on March 8th, the 311th was sent across with orders, “When you get across, turn right and attack!” The 311th became the first Regiment in its entirety to cross the Rhine.
Germans fought desperately from the cliffs overlooking the Bridge on the eastern side, but the 78th came pouring across. Knowing the strategic blunder that leaving this Bridge intact would be, not to mention Hitler’s wrath, German commanders tried everything conceivable to destroy the Bridge. They tried to shell it, bomb it, ram it, and even sent frogmen into the River to blow it - - but the Bridge remained standing. The significance of the Bridge at Remagen might be best understood by some of the ramifications on both Armies.
German
☒ The failure of the Germans to destroy the Bridge was an immediate embarrassment to the entire German military
☒ Hitler recognized the significance, and directed huge reinforcements be moved from other defensive points along the River to try to stop the US incursion at Remagen.
☒ Hitler convened a court-martial after the American crossing, and condemned five Nazi officers to death for their failures at the Bridge.
☒ Until Remagen, the Germans always knew there was a barrier between them and defeat. Behind the Rhine, they felt they could hold off the Allies, and negotiate a settlement.
☒ Following the War, German officers said they could accept losses at Avranches, Utah Beach, and the Ardennes -- results of these were mathematical inevitabilities. These did not affect their pride. But when they lost the Bridge at Remagen, “the Hitler Army reeled and its combat leaders became gutted of hope.”
☒ The real significance of Remagen was the unrelenting blow, piercing deep into the German psyche. The people that were supposed to be so meticulous, such precise engineers, so meticulous in detail, had failed. The end was at hand.
American
☒ Its seizure was estimated to have saved the US “5,000 dead and 10,000 wounded.”
☒ The Bridge stayed in continuous use from the moment it was seized. When it fell on March 17th, it took 28 US soldiers to their death.
☒ With a portion of the eastern shore secure, the US quickly constructed six more bridges across the Rhine, and sent an unending stream of men and material straight into the heart of Germany.
☒ Eisenhower changed his main attack from Montgomery in the North to Bradley in the south based on the 78th’s successes at Kesternich and Remagen.
☒ With Remagen, the end of the War was within grasp.
Encircling the Nazi War Machine & German Capitulation April – May 1945
The final defeat of the enemy, which we had long calculated would be accomplished in the spring and summer campaign of 1945, was suddenly, now, just around the corner.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
With the Bridge at Remagen, allied forces were now racing into the heart of Germany. The U.S. Ninth and British Second Armies crossed the Rhine in the North, the U.S. First Army (with the 78th Division) opened the main salient out of Remagen south of the Ruhr, while Patton’s Third Army crossed near Mainz and the U.S. Seventh Army was doing the same further south.
On April 1, 1945, the U.S. First and Ninth Armies met at Lippstadt, thus encircling the Ruhr Industrial Valley. Trapped inside were 300,000 SS troops, hundreds of tanks, and the key manufacturing cities of Dusseldorf, Essen, Hamm, Dortmund and Duisburg. The 78th was sent right into the middle of the Ruhr Valley, to Wuppertal, to clean out the resistance. Having cut the war-making capability from the German Armies in the field, the war was all over for Hitler.
The Ruhr pocket operation took only 11 days. In less than two weeks, the 78th advanced 50 miles and took 47,581 prisoners including seven German general officers. Recognizing the end was near, on April 19, 1945, Adolph Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin. On May 7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered. Three months later, following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan also surrendered unconditionally, thus ending World War II.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Medal of Honor Recipients series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1945.
Location. 39° 26.387′ N, 78° 58.617′ W. Marker is in Keyser, West Virginia, in Mineral County. It is at the intersection of East Piedmont Street and North Davis Street, on the right when traveling south on East Piedmont Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 31 E Piedmont St, Keyser WV 26726, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Eastern Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture.
Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Jonah Edward Kelley (here, next to this marker); The Ed Kelley Memorial Plaza (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Keyser.
Other markers no longer nearby. The Bridge at Remagen (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named The Bridge at Remagen (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named The Bridge at Remagen (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Encircling the Nazi War Machine & German Capitulation (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Aftermath of Kesternich / Germans Retreat (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Battle for Kesternich (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named The Medal of Honor (has been replaced with this marker); Regaining the Initiative (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The Battle of the Bulge (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); The First Battle of Kesternich (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Key Terrain (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); D-Day (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); World War II (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Kelley Memorial Plaza (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on August 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 30, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
