Calvin John Ward (October 30, 1899 – December 15, 1967), was a soldier in the

United States Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized militia force and a federal military reserve force of the United States Army. They are simultaneously part of two different organizations: the Army Na ...

who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his actions during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Biography

Calvin John Ward was born on October 30, 1899, in

Greene County, Tennessee Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

and lived in

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. Ward entered active duty with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's 117th Regiment from the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

National Guard during World War I. On October 8, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Ward's company was stopped near Estrées, France by a German

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

position. Ward and

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

James Ernest Karnes, deciding they had "had all they could take" of this situation, fixed bayonets, charged and captured the position. This freed their company to advance against German lines in the last major offensive of the war. Both men received the

for extraordinary heroism in this action. Calvin Ward died on December 15, 1967, and is buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Bristol, Sullivan County, Tennessee.

Medals

Military records from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Portugal attribute the following medals to Calvin John Ward: Medal of Honor, British Distinguished Conduct Medal 31JAN1919, French Croix de Guerre w/ Palm 13APR1919, French Medaille Militaire 5MAY1919, Montenegran Medaille de Bravoure w/ Palm 25JUN1919, Portuguese Cruz de Gurra 3rd Class 6DEC1921, Italian Croce di Guerra 9DEC1921, Belgian Decoration, Russian Decoration

Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company D, 117th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and date: At Estrees, France; October 8, 1918. Entered service at: Morristown, Tennessee. Born: October 30, 1898; Greene County, Tennessee. General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 16 (January 22, 1919). Citation:

During an advance, Pvt. Ward's company was held up by a machinegun, which was enfilading the line. Accompanied by a noncommissioned officer, he advanced against this post and succeeded in reducing the nest by killing three and capturing seven of the enemy and their guns.

Military Awards

Ward's military decorations and awards include:

References

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External links