Posts Tagged ‘John Henry Pruitt’

Memorial Day: Remembering John Henry Pruitt

Monday, May 31st, 2021

This Memorial Day we honor Marine Corporal John Henry Pruitt, who not only won the Medal of Honor, he won two Medals of Honor (the Army and Navy versions) for the same action:

For extraordinary gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 78th Company, 6th Regiment, 2d Division, in action with the enemy at Blanc Mont Ridge, France, 3 October 1918. Cpl. Pruitt, singlehandedly attacked two machine guns, capturing them and killing two of the enemy. He then captured 40 prisoners in a dugout nearby. This gallant soldier was killed soon afterward by shellfire while he was sniping at the enemy.

Here’s a short video on Pruitt, primarily voiceover narration over stock footage, but it does give additional information:

“He died from his wounds on October 4, 1918. It was his twenty second birthday.”