Medal of Honor: James D. Heriot, World War I, October 12, 1918
When enemy guns tore his company apart, Corporal James Heriot didn’t retreat—he charged forward alone, bayonet fixed, to silence death itself.
October 12, 2025
Name: James D. Heriot
Rank: Corporal
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 12, 1918
Unit: Company I, 118th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division (“Old Hickory”)
Entered Service At: Providence, South Carolina
Born: Providence, South Carolina
Summary of Action
In the dying days of the Great War, as the Allies pushed through northern France toward the Hindenburg Line, Corporal James Heriot and his men found themselves pinned down by merciless German machine gun fire near Vaux-Andigny. Refusing to let his company be slaughtered in place, Heriot gathered four soldiers into a small assault group and stormed forward. Two were cut down instantly; the other two took cover under the relentless storm of bullets.
But Heriot pressed on alone. With his bayonet fixed and courage unshaken, he sprinted thirty yards through open fire straight into the enemy’s gun nest. Bleeding from multiple wounds, he forced the Germans to surrender at bayonet point. Later that same day, while leading another charge on a second machine gun position, Corporal Heriot was struck and killed. His fearless advance inspired every man who saw it—and his name became immortal among the “Old Hickory” Division’s heroes of France.
Medal of Honor Citation
HERIOT, JAMES D.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Company I, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and date: At Vaux-Andigny, France, 12 October 1918. Entered service at: Providence, S.C. Birth: Providence, S.C. G.O. No.: 13, W.D., 1919. Citation: Cpl. Heriot, with 4 other soldiers, organized a combat group and attacked an enemy machine-gun nest which had been inflicting heavy casualties on his company. In the advance 2 of his men were killed, and because of the heavy fire from all sides the remaining 2 sought shelter. Unmindful of the hazard attached to his mission, Cpl. Heriot, with fixed bayonet, alone charged the machinegun, making his way through the fire for a distance of 30 yards and forcing the enemy to surrender. During this exploit he received several wounds in the arm, and later in the same day, while charging another nest, he was killed.
