Among the Mississippians honored on Veterans Day are 28 Medal of Honor recipients. Among those is Van T. Barfoot.

After a day dodging land mines, facing tanks and taking prisoners, U.S. Army Col. Barfoot led his squad to victory against German forces in Italy in 1944. His actions that day earned him a Medal of Honor as told in the graphic novel from the Association of the United States Army.

The book is part of a series called Medal of Honor, which tells the stories of Army veterans who’ve received the highest honor in the U.S. Armed Forces for valor from the Civil War to the present.

According to Joseph Craig, director of AUSA’s book program, over half a million people read the first six volumes.

Craig wrote that Bartfoot’s life was “exciting and inspiring — a classic WWII hero’s tale full of action.”

Barfoot’s story began in Edinburg, an unincorporated community in Leake County in east central Mississippi, where he was one of eight siblings. He enlisted in the Army in 1940. In 1943, he began fighting in Europe as part of the 3rd Platoon, Company L, 3rd Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division.

On May 23, 1944, Barfoot’s unit was facing off against German forces near Carano, Italy. Alone, Barfoot navigated across a minefield to the enemy’s left flank. He took out a machine gun nest with a hand grenade, killing two Germans and wounding three. He then entered a German trench, where he killed two more soldiers and took the remaining ones as prisoners.

Barfoot and his men then took control of more German positions. He reorganized his men and consolidated their new ground.

Later that day, three German tanks launched a counterattack. Barfoot single-handedly disabled the first tank with a bazooka, then killed three of the tank’s crew. The other two tanks fled. Barfoot’s group advanced and destroyed an abandoned German artillery piece. Later, he helped two wounded men cross 1,700 yards of enemy territory to reach safety. 

In total, he killed seven Germans and captured 17 that day.

Barfoot received a Medal of Honor on Sept. 28, 1944, in Épinal, France. He continued serving in the Army, fighting in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Later in his career, he worked as a senior national adviser to the Army National Guard. He retired from the Army in 1974 as a colonel.

He received national attention in 2009 when his homeowners association in Virginia tried to force him to take down the flagpole in his yard. The association backed down after the dispute reached national headlines, with public opinion mostly on Barfoot’s side.

Barfoot was 92 when he died in 2012.

Each book in the Medal of Honor series is made by professional comic book writers and artists, with vetting by historians. They’re part of AUSA’s educational mission.

People can read them online for free, and AUSA premium members can order paperback collections at the end of every year.

A basic membership is free, and paid memberships contribute to AUSA’s mission of supporting the U.S. Army.

“We get a great response from the public, including many suggestions for people to feature in new issues,” Craig said. “I have also heard from a few relatives, which is particularly rewarding.”