John Williams Overton (October 10, 1894 – July 19, 1918), also known as Johnny Overton, was an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

and soldier who was killed in action in

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 ...

. He was a national champion

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

cross country runner Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

after his graduation in 1917. In track, he set the

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the indoor

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

and indoor 1,000-yard distance in 1917. He was also the college cross country champion in 1915 and 1916.

Early life

Overton was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, on October 10, 1894.Simmons 2014, p32-33 His father was Jesse M. Overton. In Nashville, Overton was a member of the Glen Leven Presbyterian Church. He attended Wallace University school in Nashville before transferring to

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

, a preparatory school in

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...

, where he graduated in 1913. He enrolled at

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in arts in 1917. He was a member of prominent societies at Yale:

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

and Sigma Delta Psi, the later of which he was president. In the summer of 1916 he trained with the Yale Battery, a Yale-based military group.

Running career

At Yale, Overton became a star track and cross-country athlete. There, he was trained by Michael Sweeney, William Nelson Queal, and

John Mack John Mack may refer to: * John Martin Mack (1715–1784), Moravian bishop * John Mack (Medal of Honor recipient) (1843–1881), American Civil War sailor and Medal of Honor recipient * John J. Mack (coach) (1870–1923), Yale University track coac ...

. Overton was described as tall and rangy and running with a great, loping stride. Overton's strategy was to allow another runner to set the early pace but to finish strong, and he ran with an "air of quiet determination".the Speed Methods of Two World-Record Runners
''The Times'' (Shreveport, Louisiana) 27 May 1917, page 37, accessed January 1, 2018 at

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

He had no opportunity to run in the Olympics because the

1916 Summer Olympics The 1916 Summer Olympics (german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1916), officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were scheduled to be held in Berlin, German Empire, but were eventually cancelled for the first time in its 20-year history due to ...

were cancelled due to World War I, the first time the Olympics had been cancelled since the modern revival. He won the intercollegiate cross-country championships in 1915 and 1916.Johnny Overton Killed in Battle
''The New York Times'' (New York, New York). August 21, 1918 He finished second in the two mile at the intercollegiate track championships in 1915.Johnny Overton is Killed
, ''Halstead Independent'' (Halstead, Kansas) 19 Sep 1918, page 6, accessed January 1, 2018 at

1916

In January he won the

Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the arts ...

mile and a half event in the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

in New York City.Overton Out for New Miles Record
. ''Hartford Courant'' (Hartford, Connecticut) 22 May 1916, page 16, accessed January 2, 2018 at

Later that winter he set the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and American record in the indoor run at 2:15.4 while winning the indoor AAU National Championships.USA Indoor Track & Field Champions
, USA Track & Field, Accessed January 1, 2018 He was the anchor runner in Yale's world record tying 4 × relay team in early May, 1916.Colby, Frank Moore
New International Yearbook: A Compendium of the World's Progress
. Dodd, Mead and Co. 1916. p. 61 He also finished third in the two mile at the intercollegiate track championships in that year. He placed third at the 1916 National Cross Country Championships behind

Ville Kyrönen Ville Kyrönen (14 January 1891 – 24 May 1959) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Kyrönen won a silver medal in the team cross country event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He also ran in the marathon at the 1924 Events Janua ...

and

Hannes Kolehmainen Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen (; 9 December 1889 – 11 January 1966) was a Finnish four-time Olympic Gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-dista ...

, both Finnish Olympic medalists. As the first U.S. citizen across the finish line, he was the national champion.

1917

In 1917 he set the indoor world record for the mile at Meadowbrook Games in Philadelphia with a time of 4:16.0. He took over two seconds off of

Abel Kiviat Abel Richard Kiviat (June 23, 1892 – August 24, 1991) was an American middle-distance runner. He was the oldest living American Olympic medalist at the time of his death. He competed for and coached the Irish American Athletic Club, and was la ...

's record of 4:18.2 set more than four years earlier. The record, Kiviat took had stood for only three days. He again set the world and American record in the indoor run March 17 at the AAU Indoor Track and Field Championships at The Armory in New York City. This time his pace was 2:14.0, taking a remarkable 1.4 seconds off his own previous record.''Outing'', Volume 71
, Outing Publishing Company, 1918. p344 That performance was ranked number 43 of the top 100 performances in the history of The Armory. Later in March, he lost in a widely discussed race against Joie Ray at the games of the John Wanamaker Commercial Institute at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. During college he became a member of the Mercury Foot club, intending to race under that group while still in college, but the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

disallowed his racing for both Mercury and Yale. After college, he planned to compete with the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

Marines

Overton enlisted in the Marines when the United States joined

in April, 1917. In May, General

George Barnett George Barnett (December 9, 1859April 27, 1930) was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. He was a pioneer of amphibious warfare and the U.S. Marine Commandant during American involvement in World War I. Early life and educatio ...

called for recommendations from one college from every state for ten men to be given temporary commissions in the Marine Corps. Along with his friend Samuel W. Meek, Overton was one of the ten selected by Yale. Overton was training at

Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD)—also known as Naval Support Facility Indian Head—is a United States naval military installation in Charles County, Maryland, that is a NAVSEA Warfare Center (WFC) enterprise dedica ...

before moving to

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeaster ...

on July 18, 1917, where he entered officer school. He graduated from officers school in September, and his promotion to the rank of second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve was confirmed that same month. Overton remained at Quantico where he helped with the physical training program until February 1918. Although he graduated from Quantico in the artillery division along with Meek and two other Yale classmates, when they learned that artillery was not to be sent to France, they asked to transfer to infantry.

In France

He embarked for France on February 4, 1918, as a member of the 119th Company of the First Replacement Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps, arriving in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

on February 26. His company then entered training at Châtillon-sur-Cher, while Overton went to officers' training school at Gondremont, France, near Bezange-la-Grande. He graduated at the head of his class on May 31, 1918, and was sent on June 1 for observation with the Forty Second Regiment of French Chasseurs stationed in the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

. He was initiated as an honorary member of the French Chasseurs and remained with the regiment from June 1–13. When the Marines became engaged at Chateau-Thierry in early June, he asked to be transferred from his company which was still in training to the front line, and on June 16 he arrived at a marine camp in the middle of the

Battle of Belleau Wood The Battle of Belleau Wood (1–26 June 1918) occurred during the German spring offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S. 2nd (under the command of Major General Omar Bundy) and 3rd Divisi ...

, which had begun June 1 and would continue until June 26. There, Overton was assigned second lieutenant in the 18th Company, 6th Regiment, U. S. Marines, a part of the 4th Marine Brigade and 2nd Division. He served at Belleau Wood until July 9. On July 2 he was promoted to first lieutenant, but would not learn of that before his death. From July 9–16 he was stationed at Nanteuil-sur-Marne. On July 16, his regiment along with the 5th Regiment were moved to the French front near

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

to join the

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...

. The division was then a part of Marshal

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...

's allied offensive on the Soissons salient begun July 18, 1918, his division under French General

Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th I ...

Death

On July 19, 1918, the second day of the offensive, Overton was hit by a shell fragment near his heart and died a few hours later. After the battle, Yale classmate and fellow Nashvillean, Samuel W. Meek, found Overton's body and buried it in a wheatfield about 2,000 yards from Vierzy. In 1923, Overton's father died in a car accident and Overton's mother decided to have her son's body brought to Nashville.John Overton's Body Laid to Rest in Mt. Olivet With Military Honorspart 2
, ''The Tennessean'' (Nashville, Tennessee) 6 Mar 1923, page 1 and 3, accessed January 2, 2018 at

He is buried next to his father at Mount Olivet Cemetery.His Body at Last to Rest at Homepart 2
, ''Nashville Tennessean'' (Nashville, Tennessee) March 1, 1923, page 1 and 3, accessed January 1, 2018 at

After his death, he was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

and the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palm from the French Army and was frequently memorialized in poetry, including a piece by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

called "A Marine Comes Home". In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.John Williams Overton
, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, 2005 inductee, tshf.netTennessee Sports Hall of Fame Announces 2005 Inductees
, UTSports.com, November 15, 2004

National titles

AAU Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

**1000-yard run: 1916, 1917 *

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

**Senior race: 1916

References

Bibliography

*Simmons, Edwin Howard.
Through the Wheat: The US Marines in World War I
'. Naval Institute Press, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, John 1894 births 1918 deaths American male middle-distance runners American male cross country runners United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I American military personnel killed in World War I World record setters in athletics (track and field) The Hill School alumni Military personnel from Tennessee Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Track and field athletes from Nashville, Tennessee United States Marine Corps officers Yale Bulldogs men's track and field athletes