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John C. Crews was awarded two Bronze Stars, one with Oak Leaf Clusters.

These honors recognize two events during the war when John's life was very seriously at risk, and the lives of many of his comrades were saved due to his quick and courageous actions.

On April 26, 1945, in Burgau, Germany, John saw that American troops were firing on his company by mistake. Unable to reach the other unit by radio, he decided to run through the town, still occupied by German forces and snipers, and stop the friendly fire in person. John's memory of this event is that he "ran very fast," and that he remembers the sound of the German bullets whizzing by his head all the way through the town.

The other citation was for an incident on January 7, 1945, where John was on the front line and came up suddenly on a German foxhole. In the hole was a German Colonel. Fortunately for John, the officer was alone. Facing John's rifle, the Colonel knew that it would be fatal to struggle, and he promptly surrendered to him. John recalls that in that moment of personal confrontation they were both very frightened.