_Eggers, Alan Louis, Sergeant_, M. G. Company, 107th Infantry, 27th
Division, Summit, N. J.—Le Catelet, France, Sept. 29, 1918. Becoming
separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage, Sergeant Eggers,
Sergeant John C. Latham, and Corporal Thomas E. O’Shea took cover in
a shell hole well within the enemy’s lines. Upon hearing a call for
help from an American tank which had become disabled 30 yards from
them, the three soldiers left their shelter and started toward the
tank under heavy fire from German machine guns and trench mortars. In
crossing the fire-swept area Corporal O’Shea was mortally wounded; but
his companions, undeterred, proceeded to the tank, rescued a wounded
officer, and assisted two wounded soldiers to cover in a sap of a
nearby trench. Sergeant Eggers and Sergeant Latham then returned to
the tank in the face of the violent fire, dismounted a Hotchkiss gun,
and took it back to where the wounded men were, keeping off the enemy
all day by effective use of the gun, and later bringing it, with the
wounded men, back to our lines under cover of darkness.
[Illustration:
Two Officers of the United States Army Aviation Section, Lieutenant
Morrow and Lieutenant Holliday, making a flight in a Burgess Tractor.]
* * * * *
_Gaffney, Frank, Private, first class_, 108th Infantry, 27th Division,
Lockport, N. Y.—Ronssoy, France, Sept. 29, 1918. Private Gaffney, an
automatic rifleman, pushed forward alone with his gun, after all the
other members of his squad had been killed, discovered several Germans
placing a heavy machine gun in position. He killed the crew, captured
the gun, bombed several dugouts, and, after killing four more of the
enemy with his pistol, held the position until reinforcement came up,
when eighty prisoners were captured.
* * * * *
_Latham, John Cridland, Sergeant_, M. G. Co., 107th Infantry, 27th
Division, Westmoreland, England.—Le Catelet, France, Sept. 29, 1918.
Becoming separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage, Sergeant
Latham, Sergeant Alan L. Eggers, and Corporal Thomas E. O’Shea took
cover in a shell hole well within the enemy’s lines. Upon hearing a
call for help from an American tank, which had become disabled thirty
yards from them, the three soldiers left their shelter and started
toward the tank under heavy fire from German machine guns and trench
mortars. In crossing the fire-swept area Corporal O’Shea was mortally
wounded, but his companions, undeterred, proceeded to the tank, rescued
a wounded officer, and assisted two wounded soldiers to cover in the
sap of a nearby trench. Sergeant Latham and Sergeant Eggers then
returned to the tank, in the face of the violent fire, dismounted a
Hotchkiss gun, and took it back to where the wounded men were, keeping
off the enemy all day by effective use of the gun and later bringing
it, with the wounded men, back to our lines under cover of darkness.
* * * * *
_Luke, Frank, Jr., Lieutenant_, 27th Aero Squadron, Phoenix,
Ariz.—Murvaux, France, Sept. 29, 1918. After having previously
destroyed a number of enemy aircraft within seventeen days, he
voluntarily started on a patrol after German observation balloons.
Though pursued by eight German planes, which were protecting the enemy
balloon line, he unhesitatingly attacked and shot down in flames three
German balloons, being himself under heavy fire from ground batteries
and the hostile planes. Severely wounded, he descended to within fifty
meters of the ground; and flying at this low altitude near the town of
Murvaux, opened fire upon enemy troops, killing six and wounding as
many more. Forced to make a landing and surrounded on all sides by the
enemy, who called upon him to surrender, he drew his automatic pistol
and defended himself gallantly until he fell dead from a wound in the
chest.
* * * * *
_O’Shea, Thomas E., Corporal_, M. G. Co., 107th Infantry, 27th
Division, Summit, N. J.—Le Catelet, France, Sept. 29, 1918. Becoming
separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage. Corporal O’Shea,
with two other soldiers, took cover in a shell hole well within the
enemy’s lines. Upon hearing a call for help from an American tank,
which had become disabled thirty yards from them, the three soldiers
left their shelter and started toward the tank under heavy fire from
German machine guns and trench mortars. In crossing the fire-swept area
Corporal O’Shea was mortally wounded and died of his wounds shortly
afterward.
* * * * *
_Waalker, Reider, Sergeant_, Co. A, 105th Infantry, 27th Division,
Noretrand, Norway.—Ronssoy, France, Sept. 27, 1918. In the face of
heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, he crawled forward in a burning
British tank in which some of the crew were imprisoned, and succeeded
in rescuing two men. Although the tank was then burning fiercely and
contained ammunition which was likely to explode at any time, this
soldier immediately returned to the tank, and, entering it, made a
search for the other occupants, remaining until he satisfied himself
that there were no more living men in the tank.
* * * * *
_Turner, William S., First Lieutenant_, 105th Infantry, 27th Division,
Dorchester, Mass.—Ronssoy, France, Sept. 27th, 1918. He led a small
group of men to the attack, under terrific artillery and machine-gun
fire, after they had become separated from the rest of the company
in the darkness. Single-handed he rushed an enemy machine gun which
had suddenly opened fire on his group and killed the crew with his
pistol. He then pressed forward to another machine-gun post, 25 yards
away, and had killed one gunner himself by the time the remainder of
his detachment arrived and put the gun out of action. With the utmost
bravery he continued to lead his men over three lines of hostile
trenches, cleaning up each one as they advanced, regardless of the fact
that he had been wounded three times, and killed several of the enemy
in hand-to-hand encounters. After his pistol ammunition was exhausted,
this gallant officer seized the rifle of a dead soldier, bayoneted
several members of a machine-gun crew, and shot the others. Upon
reaching the fourth-line trench, which was his objective, Lieutenant
Turner captured it with the nine men remaining in his group, and
resisted a hostile counter-attack until he was finally surrounded and
killed.