John Henry Pruitt: The Double Medal of Honor Recipient & WWI Marine Hero

Welcome back everyone.  On today’s episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who joined the US Marine Corps shortly before the end of WWI.  A man whose gallantry was recognized countless times during his short time in combat.  A man who was awarded the Medal of Honor by both the US Army and Navy.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Marine Corps Corporal John Henry Pruitt.

John was born on Oct. 4th, 1896 in Fayetteville, AR.  He was one of four children born to parents George and Melissa Pruitt.  His father was employed as a blacksmith, police officer, and mine worker, which meant that the family moved numerous times during John’s childhood.  Before enlisting in the Marine Corps on May 3rd, 1917, John had a job shoveling mine debris where his father worked.   He was skilled with a rifle and qualified as a marksman before being assigned to the 78th Company, 6th Regiment at Quantico, VA.  

John and the other men of the 78th arrived in Philadelphia to board the USS Henderson, and on Jan. 20th, 1918 the transport ship left for France where they arrived on Feb. 5th.  There they fought alongside the 2nd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces under the command of General John Pershing.

The 78th was in combat but didn’t see heavy action until mid-year.  In June they were at Chateau-Thierry in Northern France where American and French forces were trying to stop a German offensive in the area.  The Germans were initially effective and pushed the Allies out of the town before the opposing Armies fought to a stalemate.  The following month the Allied forces launched a surprise offensive, which pushed the Germans further northeast. 

Shortly after this action, John and his unit were part of the major Battle of Belleau Wood.  This battle was part of a German spring offensive that was launched along with the Chateau-Thierry, and other offensives in France.  The Germans had made early progress in the area but were halted at Belleau Woods by American, British, and French forces.  Most notably, the US Marines dug shallow fighting positions and fixed their bayonets and held their ground in the face of a determined enemy.  Like other battles that month, the Armies fought to a stalemate, before the Allied forces led by the Marines finally pushed the Germans out of the area by the end of the month.  Before the end of the battle, John was gassed during a German attack on June 14th, and he was evacuated to a Red Cross hospital.  He eventually rejoined his unit on July 22nd and  was promoted to Corporal on August 15th.  He was also recognized by General Pershing for his gallantry at the battle of Saint-Mihiel on September 15th.

By early October, the war front moved further northeast and the Germans made one last stand in the Champagne region.  On October 3rd, the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge commenced.  There the French along with the American Expeditionary Forces faced the German 200th and 213th divisions.  On that first day of the battle John would go on to show gallantry on the battlefield that was recognized by both the US Navy and the US Army.

Facing heavy enemy fire from machine gun emplacements, John rushed at them fearlessly.  He raced at the Germans so swiftly that they weren’t prepared to repel this attack from one single Marine.  He was able to overrun the first emplacement before turning towards a second and capturing that one too.  He killed two of the men manning the machine guns before setting his sights on a nearby dugout.  Again, he acted so quickly and with such effectiveness that he was able to take 40 Germans prisoner.   After transferring his prisoners to a guard detail, he returned to the fighting. 

Later that same day he was assigned to sniper duty, and while manning his position, he was hit and severely wounded by artillery fire.  Sadly he passed away the following day, October 4th, which was his 22nd birthday. 

His courage in combat saw him being awarded military decorations from France and Italy,  as well as two Purple Hearts, and three Silver Stars.   Remarkably he was posthumously awarded both the Army and Navy Medal of Honor on November 11th, 1920.  He is one of 19 Americans who have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice.  General Pershing recognized John by naming him as one of 100 heroes of the war.   

Cpl. John Henry Pruitt was first buried at the Meuse- Argonne Cemetery before being reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery.  

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  If you enjoy the podcast, we ask that you follow us and leave a review or 5 star rating, which will help new listeners find the show.

Links to the sources for today's show can be found in the show notes, as well as at dutyandvalor.com.  And please join us next week where we’ll tell you the story of another true American hero.