John Cridland Latham

Sergeant · U.S. Army

U.S. Army, Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division

29 September 1918 · Le Catelet, France, Entered service at: Rutherford, New Jersey

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Branch: U.S. Army
Era: World War I
Action: Le Catelet, France, Entered service at: Rutherford, New Jersey

The citation

Official citation

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 shellhole 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 3 soldiers left their shelter and started toward the tank under heavy fire from German machineguns 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 2 wounded soldiers to cover in the sap of a nearby trench. Sergeants. Latham and 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.

Sources

U.S. Army Medal of Honor citation index
Wikipedia. Linked only. The article text is not copied here.