Congressional Medal of
Honor
THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
AND THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL
ISSUED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT, Since
April 6, 1917
Up to and including General Orders, No. 126, War
Department, November 11,1919
COMPILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT
GENERAL OF THE ARMY, 1919
Introduction sited from pages 3-7
South Carolina Genealogy Trails
Transcribed by Dena Whitesell
Men from the following counties have received this medal:
Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Bambery, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester,
Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Greenville, Kershaw,
Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Marlboro, McCormick, Oconee, Orangeburg,
Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg and
York. See those counties for more details.
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GENERAL INFORMATION IN REGARD TO THE
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE
CROSS The authorization for awarding congressional medals
of honor, distinguished-service crosses, and distinguished-service
medals iscontained in the net of Congress making appropriations for
the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919
(Bul. 43, W. D., 1918), and is as follows:
Medals of honor,
distinguished-service crosses, and distinguished-service
medals.—That the provisions of existing law relating to the award of
medals of honor to officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates
of the Army be, and they herehy are, amended so that The President
is authorized to present. In the name of the Congress, a medal of
honor only to each person who, while anofficer or enlisted man of
the Army, shall hereafter, in action involving actual conflict with
an enemy, distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of
duty.
That the President be, and he is hereby, further
authorized to present, but not in the name of Congress, a
distinguished-service cross of appropriate design and a ribbon,
together with rosette or other device, to be worn in lieu thereof,
to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of
the United States since the sixth day of April, nineteen hundred and
seventeen, has distinguished, or who shall hereafter distinguish,
himself or herself by extraordinary heroism in connection with
military operations against an armed enemy.
That each
enlisted man of the Army to whom there has been or shall be awarded
a medal of honor, a distinguished-service cross, or a
distinguished-service medal shall, for each such award, be entitled
to additional pay at the rate of $2 per month from the date of the
distinguished act or service on which the award is based, and each
bar, or other suitable device in lieu of a medal of honor, a
distinguished-service cross, or a distinguished-service medal, as
hereinafter provided for, shall entitle him to further additional
pay at the rate of $2 per month from the date of the distinguished
act or service for which the bar is awarded, and said additional pay
shall continue throughout his active service, whether such service
shall or shall not be continuous; but when the award is in lieu of
the certificate of merit, as provided for in section three hereof,
the additional pay shall begin with the date of the
award.
That no more than one medal of honor or one
distinguished-service cross or one distinguished-service, medal
shall be issued to any one person; but for each succeeding deed or
acts sufficient to justify the award of a medal of honor or a
distinguished-service cross, or a disinguished-service medal,
respectively, the President may award a suitable bar, or other
suitable device, to be worn as heshall direct; and for each other
citation of an officer or enlisted man for gallantry in action
published in orders issued from the headquarters of a force
commanded by a general officer he shall be entitled to wear, as the
President shall direct, a silver star three-sixteenths of an inch in
diameter.
That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby,
authorized to expend from the appropriations for contingent expenses
of his department from time to time so much as may be necessary to
defray the cost of the medals of honor, distinguished-service
crosses, distinguished-service medals, bars, rosettes, and other
devices hereinliefore provided for.
That whenever a medal,
cross, bar, ribbon, rosette, or other device presented under the
provisions of this act shall have been lost, destroyed, or rendered
unfit for use, without fault or neglect on the part of the person to
whom it was awarded, such metal, cross, bar, ribbon, rosette, or
device shall be replaced without charge therefor.
That,
except as otherwise prescribed herein, no medals of honor,
distinguished-service cross, distinguished-service medal, or bar, or
other suitable device in lieu of either of said medals or of said
cross, shall be issued to any person after more than three years
from the date of the act justifying the award thereof, nor unless a
specific statement or report distinctly setting forth the
distinguished service and suggesting or recommending official
recognition thereof shall have been made at the time of the
distinguished service or within two years thereafter, nor unless it
shall appear from official records in the War Department that such
person has so disitinguished himself as to entitle him thereto; but
in case an individual who shall distinguish himself dies before the
making of the award to which he may be entitled, the award may,
nevertheless, be made and the medal or corss or the bar or other
emblem or device presented within three years form the date of the
act justifying the award thereof to such representative of the
deceased as the President may designate; but no medal, cross, bar,
or other device, hereinbefore authorised, shall be awarded or
presented to any individual whose entire service subsequently to the
time he distinguished himself shall not have been honorable; but in
cases of officers and enlisted men now in the Army for whom the
award of the medal of honor has been recommended in full compliance
with then existing regulations but on account of services which,
though insufficient fully to justify the award of the medal of
honor, appear to have been such as to justify the award of the
distinguished-service cross or distinguished-service medal
hereinbefore provided for, such cases many be considered and acted
upon under the provisions of this act authorizing the award of the
distinguished-service cross and distinguished-serivce medal,
notwithsatanding that said services may have been rendered more than
three years before said cases shall have been considered as
authorized by this act, but all consideration of and action upon any
of said cases shall be based exclusively upon official records now
on file in the War Department; and in the cases of officers and
enlisted men now in the Army who have been mentioned in orders, now
a part of official records, for extraordinary heroism or especially
meritorious services, such as to justify the award of the
distinguished-service cross or the distinguished-service medal
hereinbefore provided for, such cases may be considered and acted on
under the provisions of this act, notwithstanding that said act or
services may have been rendered more than three years before said
cases shall ahve been considered as authorized by this act, but all
consideration of and action upon any said cases shall be based
exclusively upon official records of the War Department.
That
the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to delegate, under
such conditions, regulations, and limitations as he shall prescribe,
to the commanding general of a separate army or higher unit in the
field, the power conferred upon him by this act to award the medal
of honor, the distinguished-service cross, and the
distinguished-service medal; and he is further authorized to make
from time to time any and all rules, regulations, and orders which
he shall deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this
act and to execute the full purpose and intention
thereof.
That the President is authorized, under regulations
to be prescribed by him, to confer such medals and decorations as
may be authorized in the military service of the United States upon
officers and enlisted men of the military forces of the countries
concurrently engaged with the United States in the present war.
NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS.
Recommendation
for the award of the medal of honor, distinguished-service cross, or
distinguished-service medal is made by the regimental commander, and
in eases of men not in regimental commands by a commander
corresponding as nearly as possible to a regimental commander or one
of higher command. Recommendations, however, may be initiated by
officers of lower rank, and in practice recommendations initiated by
civilians have always been considered and acted upon. They must be
based upon the statement of an eyewitness, preferably the immediate
commander. The act or service must be specifically described, and
when the recommendation is made by a commissioned officer who was an
eyewitness, it must be so slated.
When a commissioned officer
was not an eyewitness the testimony, when practicable, of at least
two eyewitnesses must accompany the recommendation. All written
testimony must be in the form of certificates or affidavits. Each
case is submitted separately and forwarded through regular channels
with the views or recommendations of each commander indorsed
thereon.
The commanding general, American Expeditionary
forces, was authorized to award the distinguished-service cross and
the distinguished-service medal for services rendered by members of
his command; also to award the medal of honor in case the person
recommended was fatally wounded or so ill as to endanger his life.
Report in all of the above cases was made to The Adjutant General of
the Army by cable.
In the United States, by direction of the
Secretary of War, there is convened in the personnel branch of the
General Staff a board of five officers which makes recommendations
to the Chief of Staff as to individuals who for services outside of
the theater of operations should be awarded the
distinguished-service medal. This board also considers and makes
recommendations for the award of the medal of honor,
distinguished-service cross, and distinguished-service medal for
services performed prior to the World War. In the United States
final approval of recommendations is made by the Secretary of War.
In order to insure fairness to all, the commanding general,
American Expeditionary Forces, issued instructions to each
commandingofficer of a regiment or independent command to submit
recommendations for the award of the medal of honor, distinguished
-service cross, and distinguished-service medal for all members of
his command who in his opinion deserved the award. Similar
instructions relative to the distinguished-service medal were issued
in the United States to the chiefs of all staff corps, department
commanders, and commanders of ports of embarkation.
All
awards of medals are published to the Army in War Department general
orders and also to the public in the press.
Medals for valor
and the distinguished-service medal are in the United States
presented in the name of Congress or in the name of the President by
the Secretary of War or an appropriate officer designated by the
Secretary of War. In the American Expeditionary Forces these medals
were presented by the commanding general of those forces as the
President's representative or by a suitable officer designated by
the commanding general, American Expeditionary Forces.
Since
April 6, 1917, the date of the entrance of the United States into
the World War, 78 congressional medals of honor have been awarded by
the War Department, to members of the American Expeditionary Forces,
upon the recommendation of the commanding general of those forces.
Twenty-four awards were posthumous, and in these cases the medal was
presented by the War Department to the proper legal
representatives.
The first section (pp. 9-34) of this book
contains the alphabetical list of the "8 officers and soldiers
awarded the congiessional medal of honor during the World War, in
groups by States, and in medal of honor during the Word War, in
gorups by States, and in groups by divisions.
The second section
(pp. 35-834) of this book contains the alphabetical list of
officers, soldiers, nurses and civilians awarded the
distinguished-service cross during the World War in groups by States
or countries, and in groups by divisions.
The third section
(pp. 835-1001) of this book contains the alphabetical list of
officers, soldiers, nurses and civilians awarded the
distinguished-service medal during the World War, with full citation
in each case.
The fourth section (pp. 1003-1052) of this book
contains the alphabetical list of all names in the first, second,
third, and fifth sections mentioned herein.
The fifth section
(pp. 1053-1054) of this book contains additional citations not found
under State lists.
Four women and four civilians were awarded
the distinguished-service cross. Their names can be found on page
831 and page 832, respectively. A number of women and
civilians were awarded the distinguished-service medal.
The
individual citations of the persons awarded the medal of honor and
the distinguished-service cross are found in the groupings by
States. The individual citations of persons awarded the
distinguished-service medal are found in the distinguished-service
medal section, commencing on page 835, which section is not arranged
by States. The alphabetical index will give ready reference to
allawards.
In the cases of awards of one or more oak-leaf
clusters, the citations accompanying such awards follow immediately
the original citation for the distinguished-service
cross.
Posthumous awards are indicated by an asterisk (*)
placed in front of the name. In practically every posthumous award
the decoration was presented by The Adjutant General of the Army to
the nearest relative of the deceased after due investigation. Names
followed by the word " deceased " indicate those men who have died
since awards were made.
This book does not contain the names
of any persons awarded the medal of honor prior to the World War or
for acts performed prior to the World War. Such awards have been
published in part by the War Department in separate
publications.
This publication has been compiled from the
best available data. It is complete to include General Orders, No.
126, War Department, dated November 11, 1919. These lists (or
supplements) will probably be republished at a later date to include
subsequent awards.
Errors or omissions should be immediately
reported to The Adjutant General of the Army by those
concerned.
War Department,
The Adjutant General's
Office,
Washington, November 11, 1919.
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