Name: Parker F. Dunn
Rank: Private First Class
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 23, 1918
Unit: Company A, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division
Born: Albany, New York
Entered Service From: Albany, New York
Summary of Action
Near Grand-Pré, France, the 78th Division’s advance had stalled under brutal German machine-gun and artillery fire. Communication between units had been cut, and a critical message needed to reach the front line — a mission so dangerous that the battalion commander could not bring himself to order a man to attempt it.
Private First Class Parker Dunn stepped forward without hesitation. Sprinting across open ground under a storm of bullets, he was struck once, then again — but refused to stop. Still clutching the message, he pushed forward until a final burst cut him down just short of his destination.
He never delivered the note, but his courage delivered something far greater: a lasting example of duty beyond fear, and of a soldier’s willingness to give all for his comrades.
Medal of Honor Citation
DUNN, PARKER F.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 312th Infantry, 78th Division. Place and date: Near Grand-Pré, France, 23 October 1918. Entered service at: Albany, N.Y. Birth: Albany, N.Y. G.O. No.: 49, W.D., 1922.
Citation: When his battalion commander found it necessary to send a message to a company in the attacking line and hesitated to order a runner to make the trip because of the extreme danger involved, Pfc. Dunn, a member of the intelligence section, volunteered for the mission. After advancing but a short distance across a field swept by artillery and machinegun fire, he was wounded, but continued on and fell wounded a second time. Still undaunted, he persistently attempted to carry out his mission until he was killed by a machinegun bullet before reaching the advance line.
