What did US soldier Pierpont M. Hamilton do in World War II to be awarded a Medal of Honor?

On November 8, 1942, when French forces resisted Allied landing operations, Hamilton undertook a mission for Truscott to deliver a message to Col. Charles Petit, the local French commander near Port Lyautey, French Morocco, to broker a cease fire.

Hamilton and Col. Demas T. Craw went behind enemy lines under a flag of truce, but Craw was shot dead and Hamilton captured and held prisoner.

On the morning of November 10, Petit was captured by U.S. troops and ordered the 1er Regiment de Tirailleurs Marocain to surrender. Hamilton took custody of Petit, who made direct contact with Mathenet on the evening of November 10 and persuaded him to end French resistance. With the assistance of Mathenet's deputy commander, Hamilton drove to the Port Lyautey airport, which had been captured by tanks of the U.S. 70th Tank Battalion. There he relayed news of the surrender to Truscott, arranged a ceasefire at 0400 on November 11, and scheduled a formal ceremony of surrender four hours later. French Admiral Jean Darlan ordered French troops in North Africa to cease resistance. Truscott and Patton recommended both officers for the Medal of Honor, which Hamilton received on January 23, 1943. Craw was also awarded the medal posthumously later in 1943.