Medal of Honor: William Sawelson, World War I, October, 28, 1918

Name: William Sawelson
Rank: Sergeant
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 26, 1918
Unit: Company M, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division
Born: August 5, 1895 – Newark, New Jersey
Entered Service From: Harrison, New Jersey

Summary of Action

In the final days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, near Grand-Pré, France, the battlefield was a wasteland of shell holes, mud, and unending fire. From one of those craters, a wounded American cried out for water — a faint voice barely audible over the roar of machine guns. Hearing it, Sergeant William Sawelson left the relative safety of his own cover and crawled toward the sound, dragging himself through a storm of bullets.

He reached the man, gave him the last of his canteen, and then turned back to bring more. As he returned across the open ground, he was struck and killed by enemy fire. Sawelson’s act of mercy — simple, human, and profoundly brave — remains one of the most selfless deeds recorded in the Great War.

Medal of Honor Citation

SAWELSON, WILLIAM
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company M, 312th Infantry, 78th Division. Place and date: At Grand-Pré, France, 26 October 1918. Entered service at: Harrison, N.J. Born: 5 August 1895, Newark, N.J. G.O. No.: 16, W.D., 1919.

Citation: Hearing a wounded man in a shell hole some distance away calling for water, Sgt. Sawelson, upon his own initiative, left shelter and crawled through heavy machinegun fire to where the man lay, giving him what water he had in his canteen. He then went back to his own shell hole, obtained more water, and was returning to the wounded man when he was killed by a machinegun bullet.