On that day, near Cognon, Leyte, during the Battle of Ormoc Bay, Nett led his company in an assault against a heavily fortified Japanese position.
[6] A ceremony was held in his hometown of New Haven, and President Harry S. Truman was to have presented him with the medal there, but had to cancel in order to attend to the formation of the United Nations in California, Nett told a reporter.
[4] Nett's official Medal of Honor citation reads: He commanded Company E in an attack against a reinforced enemy battalion which had held up the American advance for 2 days from its entrenched positions around a 3-story concrete building.
During the fierce hand-to-hand encounter which ensued, he killed 7 deeply entrenched Japanese with his rifle and bayonet and, although seriously wounded, gallantly continued to lead his men forward, refusing to relinquish his command.
Wounded once more in the final assault, he calmly made all arrangements for the resumption of the advance, turned over his command to another officer, and then walked unaided to the rear for medical treatment.
By his remarkable courage in continuing forward through sheer determination despite successive wounds, Lt. Nett provided an inspiring example for his men and was instrumental in the capture of a vital strongpoint.
He graduated from the Infantry School Advanced Course in 1952 and the Army Command and General Staff College in 1958 and completed a B.S.