Illinois Medal of Honor winner dies

GODFREY -- An Illinoisan who won the Medal of Honor after killing nine German soldiers and taking two others captive while wounded during a World War II battle has died.

Gent Funeral Home in Alton says Russell Dunham was 89 when he died of heart failure Monday at his home in the southwestern Illinois community of Godfrey. He moved there just weeks ago from Jerseyville.

Dunham won the nation's highest military honor for his heroics during a January 1945 battle near Kayserberg, France. The Army says Dunham was shot in the back but managed to fire 175 rounds of carbine ammunition and throw 11 grenades while charging a hill.

Services for Dunham will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Alton funeral home, with burial in Godfrey's Valhalla Memorial Park.