John Cridland Latham

John Cridland Latham (March 3, 1888 – November 5, 1975) was a United States Army soldier who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War I.

For other people with the same name, see John Latham (disambiguation).
John Cridland Latham
Medal of Honor recipient
Born(1888-03-03)March 3, 1888
Windermere, England
DiedNovember 5, 1975(1975-11-05) (aged 87)
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
RankSergeant and later Warrant Officer
UnitMachine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division
AwardsMedal of Honor
Purple Heart

Born on March 3, 1888, in Windermere, England, Latham immigrated to the United States and joined the Army from Rutherford, New Jersey. By September 29, 1918, he was serving as a sergeant in Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Division. On that day, near Le Catelet in northeastern France, he and two other soldiers, Sergeant Alan L. Eggers and Corporal Thomas E. O'Shea, left cover to rescue the crew of a disabled American tank. O'Shea was killed in the process, but Latham and Eggers successfully defended the wounded tank crewmen from German fire all day and carried them to the safety of the Allied lines after nightfall. For this action, all three soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor the next year.[1]

Medal of Honor Citation
  • Rank and organization: Sergeant, United States Army, Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division.
  • Place and date: At Le Catelet, France, September 29, 1918.
  • Entered service at: Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Birth: Windermere, England
  • General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 20 (January 30, 1919).

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 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 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 two 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.[1]

Military Awards[2][3][4]

Latham's military decorations and awards include:

1st row Medal of Honor Purple Heart World War I Victory Medal w/three bronze service stars to denote credit for the Somme Offensive, Ypres-Lys and Defensive Sector battle clasps.
2nd row Distinguished Conduct Medal (Great Britain) Médaille militaire (French Republic) Croix de guerre 1914–1918 w/bronze palm (French Republic)
3rd row Croce al Merito di Guerra (Italy) Medal for Military Bravery (Kingdom of Montenegro) Medalha da Cruz de Guerra, Third Class (Portuguese Republic)


See also

Footnotes
  1. "Medal of Honor Recipients - World War I". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  2. History of the 107th Infantry U.S.A. compiled by Gerald F. Jacobson=1920 (PDF). Seventh Regiment Armory, New York City. pp. 155–157, 519. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  3. The Story of the 27th Division by John F. O'Ryan, Appendix C=1921 (PDF). Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co.,New York. p. 924. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  4. Medals of Honor by James Marie Hopper=1929. The John Day Company, New York. pp. 108, 110.
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