Medal of Honor: Thomas E. O’Shea, World War I, September 29, 1918

Name: Thomas E. O’Shea
Rank: Corporal
War: World War I
Date of Action: September 29, 1918
Unit: Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division
Accredited to: Summit, New Jersey

Summary of Action
Cut off by a smoke barrage near Le Catelet, France, O’Shea and two comrades—Sergeants Alan Eggers and John Latham—found themselves deep inside enemy lines. From their shell hole they heard calls for help from a disabled American tank only 30 yards away. The three men raced forward across fire-swept ground under the storm of German machine guns and mortars. In the dash, O’Shea was mortally wounded. His sacrifice allowed Eggers and Latham to continue, rescuing wounded men from the tank and holding off the enemy all day with a salvaged Hotchkiss gun. Though he did not live to see the outcome, O’Shea’s courage was the first act in a chain of valor that saved lives and brought honor to all three.

Medal of Honor Citation
O’SHEA, THOMAS E.
Rank and organization: Corporal, U.S. Army, Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division. Place and date: Near Le Catelet, France, 29 September 1918. Entered service at: Summit, N.J. Birth: New York, N.Y. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919. Citation: Becoming separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage, Cpl. O’Shea, with 2 other soldiers, took cover in a shell hole well within the enemy’s lines. Upon hearing a call for help from an American tank, which had become disabled 30 yards from them, the 3 soldiers left their shelter and started toward the tank under heavy fire from German machineguns and trench mortars. In crossing the fire-swept area Cpl. O’Shea was mortally wounded and died of his wounds shortly afterwards.