Samuel Woodfill (1883-1951) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Maj Samuel Woodfill

Born 6 Jan 1883 in Bryantsburg, Jefferson, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Son of John Samuel Good Woodfill and Christine (Haverline) Woodfill

Brother of Julia Ann (Woodfill) Rice

Husband of Lorena (Wiltshire) Woodfill — married 26 Dec 1917 in Fort Thomas, Campbell, Kentucky, United States

Died 10 Aug 1951 at age 68 in Vevay, Switzerland, Indiana, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Terry Poole

[send private message]

Profile last modified 30 May 2023 | Created 3 Dec 2020

This page has been accessed 376 times.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Congressional Medal of Honor Citation
- 1.2 Residences
2 Sources

Biography

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the War Merit Cross.

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 avec Palme de Bronze (France).

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Chevaliers de la Légion d'honneur.

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Order of Leopold (Belgium).

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the World War I Victory Medal.

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Mexican Border Service Medal.

Samuel Woodfill was awarded the Philippine Campaign Medal.

Captain Samuel Woodfill served in the United States Army in World War I
Service started: Apr 6, 1917
Unit(s): 60th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division
Service ended: Nov 20, 1919

Samuel was born on 6 January 1883 in Bryantsburg, Indiana. He was the son of Captain John Woodfill and Christine Haverline.

He married Lorena “Blossom” Wiltshire on 26 December 1917 at Fort Thomas, Campbell, Kentucky.^[1]

On 31 October 1921 General Pershing hailed Samuel as America's Greatest Doughboy for his exploits in World War 1 when picking him to represent the infantry for the Armistice Day ceremony on the Unknown Soldier.

He passed away on 10 August 1951 in Vevay, Indiana. He was buried in Hebron Cemetery, Jefferson County, Indiana on 15 August 1951.^[2] He was reinterred on 17 October 1955 at Arlington National Cemetery.^[3]

Congressional Medal of Honor Citation

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Samuel Woodfill, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on 12 October 1918, while serving with Company M, 60th Infantry, 5th Division, in action at Cunel, France. While he was leading his company against the enemy, First Lieutenant Woodfill's line came under heavy machinegun fire, which threatened to hold up the advance. Followed by two soldiers at 25 yards, this officer went out ahead of his first line toward a machinegun nest and worked his way around its flank, leaving the two soldiers in front. When he got within ten yards of the gun it ceased firing, and four of the enemy appeared, three of whom were shot by First Lieutenant Woodfill. The fourth, an officer, rushed at First Lieutenant Woodfill, who attempted to club the officer with his rifle. After a hand-to-hand struggle, First Lieutenant Woodfill killed the officer with his pistol. His company thereupon continued to advance, until shortly afterwards another machinegun nest was encountered. Calling on his men to follow, First Lieutenant Woodfill rushed ahead of his line in the face of heavy fire from the nest, and when several of the enemy appeared above the nest he shot them, capturing three other members of the crew and silencing the gun. A few minutes later this officer for the third time demonstrated conspicuous daring by charging another machinegun position, killing five men in one machinegun pit with his rifle. He then drew his revolver and started to jump into the pit, when two other gunners only a few yards away turned their gun on him. Failing to kill them with his revolver, he grabbed a pick lying nearby and killed both of them. Inspired by the exceptional courage displayed by this officer, his men pressed on to their objective under severe shell and machinegun fire.

Residences

1900 - Washington Township Broadripple, Marion, Indiana, United States.^[4]
1910 - Eagle, Division 2, Alaska, United States.^[5]
1920 - Fort Thomas, Campbell, Kentucky.^[6]
1940 - Fort Thomas, Precinct Q, Magisterial District 4, Campbell, Kentucky, United States.^[7]

Find A Grave: Memorial #7135841

Sources

↑ "Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW1Q-HRX : 12 January 2020), Samuel Woodfill, 1917.
↑ Indiana Archives and Records Administration; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Death Certificates; Year: 1951; Roll: 08. Ancestry.com. Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Ancestry Record 60716 #446288
↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Interment Control Forms, 1928–1962. Interment Control Forms, A1 2110-B. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92. The National Archives at College Park, College Park, Maryland. Ancestry Record 2590 #1863152
↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9MZ-5QS : accessed 4 December 2020), Samuel Woodfill in household of Alvin Rice, Washington Township Broadripple, Marion, Indiana, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 203, sheet 7B, family 151, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,391.
↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPZL-V75 : accessed 4 December 2020), Samuel Woodfill in household of Talmage R Mcnally, Eagle, Division 2, Alaska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 4, sheet 1B, family 10, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1749; FHL microfilm 1,375,762.
↑ "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH25-MPL : accessed 5 December 2020), Samuel Woodfill, Kentucky, United States; citing ED 164, sheet 10B, line 73, family , NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 563; FHL microfilm 1,820,563.
↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7RC-WD6 : 15 May 2020), Samuel Woodfill, Precinct Q, Fort Thomas, Magisterial District 4, Campbell, Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 19-79, sheet 4A, line 26, family 78, 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 1290.