Currey was born in Loch Sheldrake, New York, on June 29, 1925. After being orphaned at age 12, he was raised by foster parents on a farm in nearby Hurleyville. He joined the United States Army at age 17, one week after graduating Hurleyville High School. Although he completed Officer Candidate School, at only 18 years old, his superiors felt that he was "too immature" to be an officer and denied him a commission.
World War II
Currey landed at Omaha Beach in July 1944, a few weeks after D-Day. In September, he was assigned as a replacement without winter gear to 3rd Platoon, K Company, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in Netherlands. He saw his first combat action that month. Six weeks later, he was a sergeant and 3rd Platoon Leader in K Company. On December 21, 1944, Private First Class Currey was an automatic rifleman in a rifle squad which was guarding a bridge crossing and strongpoint. He repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire while firing upon and killing several German infantrymen during an early morning German tank advance in Malmedy, Belgium. During the attack, he used a bazooka and anti-tank grenades which caused four enemy tank crews to abandon their tanks and also enabled him to rescue five comrades who had been pinned down in a building by enemy fire. After the Battle of the Bulge, he became a squad leader, and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action at his regiment's command post. In March 1945, Currey's company commander recommended him for the Medal of Honor for his actions on December 21. The Medal of Honor was presented to Currey on July 27, 1945, by the 30th Infantry Division division commander, Major General Leland Hobbs, near Reims, France; the medal was officially awarded to him on August 17, 1945. After the war was over in Europe, he received his third Purple Heart for being shot in Bavaria while disarming German soldiers. He returned to the United States in August as a first sergeant after occupational duty and a stop in England aboard the Queen Mary.
Currey's official Medal of Honor citation reads: Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company K, 120th Infantry, 30th Infantry Division Place and date: Malmedy, Belgium, December 21, 1944 Entered service at: Hurleyville, N.Y. Birth: Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. G.O. No. 69, August 17, 1945
Other honors
In 1998, the first Medal of Honor G.I. Joe action figure was modeled after Currey.
In 2013, an outside mural of Currey was unveiled in his honor as a living Medal of Honor recipient at the Sullivan Country Museum in Hurleyville.
In November 2013, Currey's photo was one of 12 photos of Medal of Honor recipientson the cover sheet of a U.S. Postal Service "World War II Medal of Honor Forever Stamp" packet of 20 Medal of Honor stamps.
