Medal of Honor: Robert Lester Blackwell, World War I, October 11, 1918

Name: Robert Lester Blackwell
Rank: Private
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 11, 1918
Unit: Company K, 119th Infantry, 30th Division
Entered Service At: Hurdle Mills, North Carolina
Born: Person County, North Carolina

Summary of Action
The men of the 30th “Old Hickory” Division were pinned down outside St. Souplet, their line nearly surrounded by German forces firing from all sides. With ammunition running low and no way to reach higher command, the platoon commander called for a volunteer to carry a desperate message through a storm of enemy fire.
Private Robert L. Blackwell—only twenty-two years old—stepped forward without hesitation. Clutching the message, he ran into a maelstrom of bursting shells and machinegun tracers cutting the air like saw blades. His comrades watched as he disappeared into the smoke and chaos, never to be seen alive again.
Blackwell’s body was later found along the route he had tried to cross—his message still clutched in his hand. Though his life was lost, his courage gave the men behind him the strength to hold their ground and survive until relief arrived. His name became a sacred memory within the 30th Division—a reminder that true valor often means facing certain death for the sake of others.

Medal of Honor Citation
BLACKWELL, ROBERT L.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company K, 119th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and date: Near St. Souplet, France, 11 October 1918. Entered service at: Hurdle Mills, N.C. Birth: Person County, N.C. G.O. No.: 13, W.D., 1919. Citation: When his platoon was almost surrounded by the enemy and his platoon commander asked for volunteers to carry a message calling for reinforcements, Pvt. Blackwell volunteered for this mission, well knowing the extreme danger connected with it. In attempting to get through the heavy shell and machinegun fire this gallant soldier was killed.