Gary Evans Foster (1894 - 1951)

Born 6 Nov 1894 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy Susan (Trout) Foster — married 14 Oct 1922 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States

Died 22 Jul 1951 at age 56 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States

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Gary Foster was awarded the Medal of Honor.

• Roll of Honor
• Medal of Honor

Biography

World War I Medal of Honor Recipient, Gary Foster served as a Sergeant in the United States Army in Company F, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for action on October 8, 1918 near Montrehain, France. ^[1]

CITATION

When his company was held up by violent machine-gun fire from a sunken road, Sgt. Foster with an officer went forward to attack the hostile machine-gun nests. The officer was wounded, but Sgt. Foster continued on alone in the face of the heavy fire and by effective use of hand grenades and his pistol killed several of the enemy and captured 18.^[2]

Spartanburg County has four Medal of Honor Recipients, Sergeant Gary Evans. Foster being the first. ^[3]

Max Trout, 82, a World War II veteran and nephew of Gary Evans Foster, said his uncle was also very modest about his medal. Foster was an Army sergeant in France during World War I. His citation credits Foster with capturing enemy soldiers and killing several others.

The citation reads “when his company was held up by violent machine gunfire from a sunken road, Sgt. Foster with an officer went forward to attack the hostile machine gun nests. The officer was wounded, but Sgt. Foster continued on alone in the face of the heavy fire and by effective use of hand grenades and his pistol killed several of the enemy and captured 18.”

Gary married Sussie Trout.^[4] After leaving the Army, Gary Foster returned to Spartanburg and worked at the post office. He was the foreman of the mail carriers before retiring for health reasons.

Gary died July 22, 1951 and is buried at New Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery New Prospect, Spartanburg County,South Carolina, USA, Plot: Section 1, Row 15.^[5]

Interview with Gary's. Nephew

“They described him as unassuming,” Trout said. “He was modest and didn't want to be a hero. He felt a little guilty because of others who weren't honored and felt they were just as deserving of it as he was.”

Trout said his uncle didn't talk much about the war, but they had a few conversations about his courageous act. He said an officer threatened to court-martial his uncle because he didn't want to tell him what he had done to save the lives of his comrades.

“When the only surviving officer of the company summoned my uncle and asked him what went on that morning, my uncle said, ‘nothing,'” Trout said. “The officer told him that was not what all of the other men were telling him.”

The officer recommended Foster for the medal after hearing the story from the others. Trout thinks it is humorous that his uncle almost received a court-martial because he didn't want to talk about what had happened.

“My uncle didn't think much of it,” Trout said. “He didn't think it was so brave.”

Trout said that when he was a child, he used to play with some of his uncle's war medals. Foster received other awards in addition to the Medal of Honor, including the Medaille Militaire from France. Some of his medals are on display at the Spartanburg Regional History Museum in an exhibit honoring local veterans.

Trout said when he was getting ready to serve in World War II, his uncle wanted him to be smart, so he wouldn't get killed. That's when his uncle finally talked to him about some of his war experiences.

“He (Foster) was out on patrol in ‘no man's land' and heard an artillery shell and hit the ground,” Trout said. “He said the artillery fell not too far from him and the next one got even closer. He realized a spotter was directing artillery toward them. He said they jumped up, ran and got in the hole the previous shell had made. The next shell hit exactly where they had been.”

“My uncle humbly declined the accolades,” Trout said. “He said he was doing his duty.”^[6]

Medaille Militaire

The Médaille militaire (English: Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic first established in 1852 by Emperor Napoleon III for award to privates and non-commissioned officers who distinguished themselves by acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Military Times Citations.
2. ↑ Home of Heroes, Gary Evans Foster.
3. ↑ American Legion Post 28 Walk of Honor.
4. ↑ Joint Grave Marker (image posted).
5. ↑ Find A. Grave Memorial.
6. ↑ Spartanburg's Medal of Honor Recipents News Article.
7. ↑ Wikipedia: Medaille Militaire.

• Find A Grave Gary Evans Foster, memorial # 7808512

• United States Census, 1900, database with images, FamilySearch accessed 27 January 2017), Gary E Foster in household of William J Foster, Campobello Township (north part) Landrum town, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 83, sheet 23B, family 415, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,541.

• "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5DV-HN1 : accessed 28 January 2017), Gary E Foster in household of Wm J Foster, Campobello, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 74, sheet 35B, family 538, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1472; FHL microfilm 1,375,485.

• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M68M-8D6 : 3 February 2021), Gary E Foster in entry for Minnie C Foster, 1920.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SPZF-KCT : accessed 1 July 2022), Gary E Foster, Spartanburg, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 48, sheet 14A, line 26, family 319, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2213; FHL microfilm 2,341,947.

• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K46D-D76 : 11 January 2021), Gary Evans Foster, Campobello Township, Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 42-23B, sheet 7A, line 15, family 98, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3837.