In 1945, a total of 15 soldiers were staying in a house on the outskirts of a small French town when they were alerted that a group of Germans had occupied a church down the street. James Hutchins was one of the six men who left the house to investigate.

While they crept through the streets, trying to get a visual on what was happening in the church, they were spotted. German soldiers immediately opened fire, forcing the group to split up and find cover.

Hutchins and one other man made it safely to a barn adjacent to a vacant house near the church. He made his way into the house and stood in the kitchen, looking out the window to try and get an idea of what they were up against. Machine gun fire sounded, ripping shingles off the roof of the house he was hiding out in, forcing Hutchins to duck for cover.

The gunfire suddenly subsided, replaced by a grenade being thrown through the window and landing right at Hutchins feet. Reacting on instinct, Hutchins picked up the grenade and threw it right back out the window.

Hutchins hurriedly exited the kitchen, making his way back to the adjacent barn to meet with the rest of the party. The six men received commands via radio to leave the town and get back to safety, but the only way to get back to camp was by crossing an open field.

As they attempted to make their way back safely, German soldiers opened fire on the near defenseless Americans. The six men took up offensive position, training their weapons on the Germans firing at them.

The enemy soldiers appeared to be multiplying as they continued firing on the Americans. The group of Americans began picking off German soldiers as they advanced, and the remaining Germans fled the town. As the attack ended, the Americans were left with only one man injured.

They had successfully killed 68 Germans, earning Hutchins a Bronze Star for the mission.

That attack came a month after Hutchins and the rest of Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army landed on Omaha Beach, four days after D-Day. The army travelled throughout France, finding and removing German armies as they did so.

“We chased Germans all through France,” Hutchins said. “We kept them on the run the whole time.”

Hutchins and the men he was fighting alongside didn’t stop their impressive showing there, though. The army was needed at the Battle of the Bulge to relieve the 101st Airborne Division. They travelled from the south of France all the way to Bastogne in three days, covering 90 miles on foot, fighting the whole way. To date, that was the farthest distance an army had travelled under attack.

After the war ended, Hutchins stayed overseas an addition six months, occupying Austria. Hutchins was discharged Army and returned to work. Because of his job and the role it played in the building of weaponry used during the war, Hutchins was exempt from having to enter the draft. He was also exempt because he was the only son in his family. Regardless of his ability to legally avoid going into the Army, Hutchins went anyway.

“I had so many men who weren’t able to serve, but I was physically capable of serving my country,” Hutchins said. “I felt like it was my civic duty to do it.”

He was inducted into the U.S. Army’s in Anniston and then to basic training in Mineral Springs, Texas. Because of the harsh conditions they would be fighting in, Hutchins and the 76th Division was sent to Canada during the winter for special training. They were extensively trained on survival in the snow and extreme temperatures. After the competition of that training, they traveled to Europe via a four-day journey on the Queen Mary. This marked the beginning of Hutchins’ 17-month stay overseas, during and after WWII.

Upon returning to the states, he went back to the career he had before he was drafted. That entailed working as a welder on military equipment. Hutchins, now 94, lives in Odenville and still uses his welding expertise. Instead of working on national defense military equipment, he now helps family and friends with their projects.

“That’s my passion,” Hutchins said, “To help others who need it.”