US Army Ranger Sergeant Franklin Koons posing for photographers immediately following being presented with Great Britain’s Military Medal by Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Casablanca, French Morocco, 18 Jan 1943

Caption     US Army Ranger Sergeant Franklin Koons posing for photographers immediately following being presented with Great Britain’s Military Medal by Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Casablanca, French Morocco, 18 Jan 1943 ww2dbase
Photographer    Unknown
Source    ww2dbaseUnited States Army Signal Corps
Identification Code   Library of Congress 2009632306
More on...   
Attack on Dieppe   Main article  Photos  
Photo Size 4,500 x 5,530 pixels
Photos on Same Day 18 Jan 1943
Photos at Same Place Casablanca, French Morocco
Added By David Stubblebine
Licensing  Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government".

Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you.
Colorized By WW2DB     Colorized with Adobe Photoshop



Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Please help us spread the word:

 Reddit
 Bluesky
 Mastodon

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds

Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Commenter identity confirmed David Stubblebine says:
10 Sep 2015 05:06:23 PM

The medal was awarded for Sgt Koons’ courageous actions as one of 50 US Rangers who participated in the Attack on Dieppe, France in Aug 1942
2. Commenter identity confirmed Alan Chanter says:
3 Feb 2016 08:06:30 AM

Only half a dozen US Rangers got ashore at Quiberville beach. Two sergeants and Corporal F. Koons gained entry to houses and climbed on to rooftops overlooking the Hess battery. However things did not quite go as they planned. Hampered by enemy Fw.190s some RAF cannon fighter blasted the Rangers off their rooftops with near misses and before they knew what had happened the two Sergeants and Cpl Koons found themselves uninjured but back on the ground. The Corporal was the first recover and, roused to a high pitch of inspiration by this event, the three Americans regained the roof where they began to pour fire into the heart of the battery. It is thought that Corporal Koons then became the first US soldier to kill a German soldier in World War II when one of his shots toppled a gunner attempting to man one of the 15cm coastal guns.

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name 
Your Webite 
Your Email 
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type 
Your Comments 
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.
Search WW2DB
Modern Day Location
WW2-Era Place Name Casablanca, French Morocco
Lat/Long 33.5569, -7.6606
Random Photograph

N-3PB aircraft of Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service in flight over Lake Elsinore, California, United States, early 1941

Current Site Statistics

Famous WW2 Quote
"Since peace is now beyond hope, we can but fight to the end."

Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!