The Congressional Medal of Honor was awarded to 119 members of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps during World War I, 33 of them posthumously. Portrait photographs of these heroes are remarkably scarce, but I was fortunate to recently acquire one. The subject of tonight’s post is Captain Samuel Woodfill of Indiana, one of America’s most celebrated soldiers of the Great War.
Captain Samuel Woodfill, U.S. Army
Often described by General John J. Pershing as “the outstanding soldier of the American Expeditionary Forces,” Captain Samuel Woodfill earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on October 12, 1918. Leading his company through heavy fog and enemy fire near Cunel, France, Woodfill singlehandedly attacked multiple German machine gun nests, killing or capturing their crews despite being gassed and exhausted. A career soldier from Indiana, Woodfill had already served in the Philippines and on the Mexican border before World War I, and his calm, precise marksmanship in France became legendary among his peers. After the war, he was personally honored by Pershing and later chosen to represent the U.S. Army’s enlisted men at the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921.
Arlington National Cemetery Video: Major Samuel Woodfill
His Medal of Honor citation reads:
“While he was leading his company against the enemy, First Lieutenant Woodfill’s line came under heavy machine gun fire, which threatened to hold up the advance. Followed by two soldiers at 25 yards, this officer went out ahead of his first line toward a machine gun nest and worked his way around its flank, leaving the two soldiers in front. When he got within ten yards of the gun it ceased firing, and four of the enemy appeared, three of whom were shot by First Lieutenant Woodfill. The fourth, an officer, rushed at First Lieutenant Woodfill, who attempted to club the officer with his rifle. After a hand-to-hand struggle, First Lieutenant Woodfill killed the officer with his pistol. His company there upon continued to advance, until shortly afterwards another machine gun nest was encountered. Calling on his men to follow, First Lieutenant Woodfill rushed ahead of his line in the face of heavy fire from the nest, and when several of the enemy appeared above the nest he shot them, capturing three other members of the crew and silencing the gun. A few minutes later this officer for the third time demonstrated conspicuous daring by charging another machine gun position, killing five men in one machine gun pit with his rifle. He then drew his revolver and started to jump into the pit, when two other gunners only a few yards away turned their gun on him. Failing to kill them with his revolver, he grabbed a pick lying nearby and killed both of them. Inspired by the exceptional courage displayed by this officer, his men pressed on to their objective under severe shell and machine gun fire.”
In a follow up to the popularity of my last post (see here), I’ve decided to begin scanning my collection of large format 12×12 inch aerial photos taken during the Battle of the Bulge. In this first post, we see a German motorized transport convoy in ruins following a strafing attack by P-47’s of the XAX Tactical Air Command (TAC) on January 23rd, 1945. I acquired a large set of these original 12×12 inch prints (complete with pencil notes on the back) on eBay a few years ago directly from the estate of a 9th Air Force photo tech who apparently saved hundreds of original flyovers like this. He saved duplicates as well! This is one of those duplicates.
Portraits of War 