Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

1st Lieutenant

Unit:

2677th OSS Company, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. Government

Awarded on:

1945

"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 2677th Regiment, Office of Strategic Services, in action against enemy forces from 7 October 1944 to 12 December 1944. With full knowledge of the extreme hazards involved, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi volunteered for an intelligence mission into the heart of enemy-occupied Czechoslovakia. As officer in charge of a sub-detachment of a liaison and intelligence team which operated for many weeks in close association with resistance forces, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi had as specific missions the establishment of contacts in the Czechoslovak underground and the infiltration into Hungary of two Civilian agents. Within a few days after his arrival in Slovakia, he successfully concluded arrangements with the underground for entrance of the two men into Hungary, and personally conducted them over the border. One of the two men dispatched later accomplished a vital intelligence mission in Budapest. During the ensuing weeks, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi carried on with great skill and intrepidity his duties as liaison agent with the Czechoslovakia underground, obtaining in the process such valuable information on troop movements by rail, detailed reports on industrial production, and significant information on the state of German morale. He rendered important aid in the rescue and evacuation of a large number of Allied fliers. When the food supply of the group became critical, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi was particularly active in the leadership of foraging parties whose activities were extremely hazardous by reason of the constant presence of enemy patrols. On 12 December 1944, while First Lieutenant Keszthelyi and an enlisted man were visiting a village in an attempt to obtain horses for transportation of seriously ill members of their group, they were captured by a German patrol, and subsequently executed. First Lieutenant Kesthelyi's activities until his capture contributed intelligence of distinct value to the war effort. His heroic and selfless performance of duty reflect the highest traditions of the Armed Service."

Headquarters, U.S. Army-Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 207 (posthumously awarded)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)