Medal of Honor: John Henry Balch, World War I, July 19, 1918 (Vierzy) and October 5, 1918 (Somme-Py)

Name: John Henry Balch
Rank: Pharmacist’s Mate First Class
War: World War I
Dates of Action: July 19, 1918 (Vierzy) and October 5, 1918 (Somme-Py)
Unit: Attached to the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, 2d Division
Born: January 2, 1896, Edgerton, Kansas
Entered Service At: Kansas City, Missouri

Summary of Action
Serving with the 6th Marines in France, John Henry Balch embodied the fearless devotion of a Navy hospital corpsman. At Vierzy on July 19, 1918, he left the safety of his dressing station and worked through unrelenting machine gun and artillery fire to reach the fallen, treating men where they lay and carrying them back through the barrage for sixteen hours straight. Months later, on October 5 at Somme-Py, Balch again advanced under heavy shelling to establish a forward aid station amid chaos, ensuring that Marines received immediate care at the height of the fighting. His unshakable courage and tireless compassion saved countless lives and set the enduring standard of battlefield medical valor.

Medal of Honor Citation
BALCH, JOHN HENRY
Rank and organization: Pharmacist’s Mate First Class, U.S. Navy. Place and date: Vierzy, France, and Somme-Py, France, 19 July and 5 October 1918. Entered service at: Kansas City, Mo. Born: 2 January 1896, Edgerton, Kans. Citation: For gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, with the 6th Regiment, U.S. Marines, in action at Vierzy, on 19 July 1918. Balch unhesitatingly and fearlessly exposed himself to terrific machinegun and high-explosive fire to succor the wounded as they fell in the attack, leaving his dressing station voluntarily and keeping up the work all day and late into the night unceasingly for 16 hours. Also in the action at Somme-Py on 5 October 1918, he exhibited exceptional bravery in establishing an advanced dressing station under heavy shellfire.