Medal of Honor: Donald M. Call, World War I, September 26, 1918
In the steel inferno of World War I’s tank battles, when fire and poison gas threatened certain death, one soldier refused to abandon his comrade. Donald Call braved the storm to bring a wounded officer to safety.
September 26, 2025
Name: Donald M. Call
Rank: Corporal
War: World War I
Date of Action: September 26, 1918
Unit: 344th Battalion, Tank Corps, U.S. Army
Accredited to: New York
Summary of Action
Near Varennes, France, Corporal Call’s tank was struck by a direct artillery shell, blasting away part of the turret and flooding the compartment with choking gas. Stumbling free, Call escaped to a shellhole thirty yards away, but realized his officer had not followed. Believing the man might yet live, he sprinted back through machine gun and artillery fire, reentered the shattered tank, and hauled the wounded officer to safety. For over a mile, under relentless fire from rifles, machine guns, and snipers, Call carried him across the battlefield until both reached safety. His unshakable loyalty and courage exemplified the highest traditions of duty and brotherhood.
Medal of Honor Citation
During an operation against enemy machinegun nests west of Varennes, Cpl. Call was in a tank with an officer when half of the turret was knocked off by a direct artillery hit. Choked by gas from the high-explosive shell, he left the tank and took cover in a shellhole 30 yards away. Seeing that the officer did not follow, and thinking that he might be alive, Cpl. Call returned to the tank under intense machinegun and shell fire and carried the officer over a mile under machinegun and sniper fire to safety.
