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Private First Class Michael J. Perkins (1899 – October 28, 1918) was a soldier in the
Perkins was born in Memorial Day Article
/ref> He is buried in New Calvary Cemetery, Mattapan,
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 ...
who received 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. ...
posthumously 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
Perkins was born in South Boston, Massachusetts
South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...
in 1899, and joined the Army in 1916. Despite being wounded in the action cited in his Medal of Honor citation, he was killed by an artillery shell the next day while being transported to the infirmary./ref> He is buried in New Calvary Cemetery, Mattapan,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. An elementary school is named after him surrounding the old colony housing development in South Boston, Massachusetts.
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company D, 101st Infantry, 26th Division. Place and date: At Belieu Bois, France, 27 October 1918. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. Birth: South Boston, Mass. G.O. No.: 34, W.D. 1919. Citation:He, voluntarily and alone, crawled to a German "pill box" machinegun emplacement, from which grenades were being thrown at his platoon. Awaiting his opportunity, when the door was again opened and another grenade thrown, he threw a bomb inside, bursting the door open, and then, drawing his trench knife, rushed into the emplacement. In a hand-to-hand struggle he killed or wounded several of the occupants and captured about 25 prisoners, at the same time silencing 7 machineguns.
See also
*List of Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
* List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Michael J. United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers American military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from Boston 1899 births 1918 deaths World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army personnel of World War I Burials in Massachusetts