Born at Grantsville, West Virginia, Bell entered the Army from New York City in August 1942.

While his men covered him, he dashed toward the building, surprised two guards at the door and took them prisoner without firing a shot.

Bell repeatedly repaired under heavy small-arms fire as he crossed dangerous terrain to keep his company commander informed of the squad's situation.

Bell climbed to the second floor and directed artillery fire which forced the hostile tank to withdraw.

He then adjusted mortar fire on large forces of enemy foot soldiers attempting to reach the American position and, when this force broke and attempted to retire, he directed deadly machine gun and rifle fire into their disorganized ranks.

He then trained machine guns on the gaps and mowed down all hostile troops attempting to cross the openings to get closer to the school building.