Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Stories of Sacrifice
World War I - U.S. Army
Alan Louis Eggers
Details
- Rank: Sergeant
- Conflict/Era: World War I
- Unit/Command:
3d Platoon, Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry,
27th Division - Military Service Branch: U.S. Army
- Medal of Honor Action Date: September 29, 1918
- Medal of Honor Action Place: near Le Catelet, France
Citation
Becoming separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage, Sgt. Eggers, Sgt. John C. Latham and Cpl. Thomas E. O'Shea took cover in a shell hole well within the enemy's lines. Upon hearing a call for help from an American tank, which had become disabled 30 yards from them, the three soldiers left their shelter and started towards the tank, under heavy fire from German machine guns and trench mortars. In crossing the fire-swept area Cpl. O'Shea was mortally wounded, but his companions, undeterred, proceeded to the tank, rescued a wounded officer, and assisted two wounded soldiers to cover in a sap of a nearby trench. Sgt. Eggers and Sgt. Latham then returned to the tank in the face of the violent fire, dismounted a Hotchkiss gun, and took it back to where the wounded men were, keeping off the enemy all day by effective use of the gun and later bringing it, with the wounded men, back to our lines under cover of darkness.
Additional Details
- Accredited to: Summit, Union County, New Jersey
- Awarded Posthumously: No
- Presentation Date & Details: February 4, 1919
Chaumont, France, presented by Gen. John J. Pershing - Born: November 2, 1895, Saranac Lake, Franklin County, NY, United States
- Died: October 3, 1968
- Buried: Arlington National Cemetery (MH) (2-3389-A), Arlington, VA, United States