Samuel Woodfill’s father was a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War. Samuel enlisted in the Army in 1901. He saw action in the Philippines against guerrillas. His unit was involved in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On Sept. 26, 1918, His company was pinned down by machine gun fire from three sides. He crawled forward and spotted a machine gun in a church tower, but couldn’t see the gunner. He fired where he thought the gunner would be. The gun would stop for a few seconds, then resume. After five shots, the gun was silenced. Later five dead Germans were found at the gun. He then killed a machine gunner in a stable with one shot. He advanced from shell hole to shell hole to approach a machine gun in a bush. He shot five gunners in a row who were aiming at him. He shot the last with a pistol as he charged at him with a bayonet. Passing through the woods, he tripped over a “dead” body which grabbed his gun, but he shot the German in the heart. He moved on to another machine gun and killed all five in the crew. He took three ammunition-carriers prisoner. He crawled 30 yards through mud to kill all five in a fifth machine gun. He jumped into the trench and shot a German officer. He turned to face a German charging at him, his pistol jammed, he seized a pick-axe, and killed the enemy. He turned to see the officer aiming at him, so he brained him. He was awarded the Medal of Honor on Oct. 12, 1918 and Gen. Pershing called him the greatest American soldier in the war. In 1921, he, Alvin York, and Charles Whittlesey of the Lost Battalion, dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- from The Doughboys
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Woodfill
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