Medal of Honor: Earl D. Gregory Rank, World War I, October 8, 1918

Name: Earl D. Gregory
Rank: Sergeant
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 8, 1918
Unit: Headquarters Company, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Division
Entered Service At: Chase City, Virginia
Born: Chase City, Virginia

Summary of Action
In the brutal fighting north of Verdun, Sergeant Earl Gregory’s unit was pinned down by German fire in the dense Bois-de-Consenvoye. Without hesitation, Gregory rose to his feet and declared, “I will get them.” Seizing a rifle and a trench mortar shell to use as a makeshift grenade, he left his detachment and advanced alone—well ahead of the infantry line. Under constant machine gun fire, he stormed the first enemy position, silenced the gun, and captured three German soldiers. Pressing forward, he discovered a 7.5-centimeter mountain howitzer and took it as well. Continuing deeper into the enemy line, Gregory entered a dugout and, still alone, captured nineteen more enemy troops. His astonishing courage and determination broke the German defense and inspired his comrades to follow. Sergeant Gregory’s single-handed assault not only shattered the resistance before him—it marked one of the most fearless individual actions of the war.

Medal of Honor Citation
GREGORY, EARL D.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Headquarters Company, 116th Infantry, 29th Division. Place and date: At Bois-de-Consenvoye, north of Verdun, France, 8 October 1918. Entered service at: Chase City, Va. Birth: Chase City, Va. G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919. Citation: With the remark “I will get them,” Sgt. Gregory seized a rifle and a trench-mortar shell, which he used as a handgrenade, left his detachment of the trench-mortar platoon, and advancing ahead of the infantry, captured a machinegun and 3 of the enemy. Advancing still farther from the machinegun nest, he captured a 7.5-centimeter mountain howitzer and, entering a dugout in the immediate vicinity, single-handedly captured 19 of the enemy.