GEM STATE GEMS - Branch 382

GEM STATE GEMS
                                   Gem State Branch 382
                                   Fleet Reserve Association
                                         www.fra382.org
                                          October 2019

                                                   fellow shipmates. Really give it some serious
News from the Branch                               consideration for next summer. It will be in the
President:                                         Tacoma area; exact location, and time TBA.
                                                            Shipmate RPNW Hall and I attended the
         Hello Shipmates                           FRA’s 92nd National Convention in Memphis
          Here another month has passed and it     this past week. It was a good convention. We
has been a very busy one. I have changed the       elected our first female FRA National President,
old adage “Time flies when you are having fun”     Donna Jansky. Her Vice President is Shipmate
to “Time really flies when you are very busy.”     Mick Fulton from SW Region and the new
         We had a very successful Regional         National Executive Director is Shipmate Chris
Convention in Everett, WA the first part of        Slawinski of Navy Dept Branch 181. We wish
September. Most of the shipmates that were         our new National officers all the best in the
running for National Office were present and       coming year.
they voiced their case as to why we should vote             The one major item that was passed at
for them. It was a good opportunity to be able     convention was moving Branch 059 Cheyenne,
to talk to the candidates in person. Your past     WY, from the NW Region to the West Coast
Branch President, Bill Hall, was elected to        Region. It only took two years to get that
another term as NW Region President and            simple move accomplished.
yours truly was elected as NW Region Vice                   The next National Convention is the end
President. I look forward to this coming year of   of Sep, 2020 in Portland, OR. Please put this on
working with RPNW Hall. He assured me being        your calendar and plan to attend. The NW
VP is a cake walk. I’ve heard that before. The     Region is the host and we need to show the rest
Regional Convention was good, but the turnout      of the country what a great convention should
was small. We really need to get better            be like. Details TBA.
attendance at our Regional conventions. It is               Remember we are having the Branch
fun, informative, and you meet a lot of good       382 float in the Boise Veteran’s Day Parade on
                                                   the 2nd of November. Check the Branch web

page for more detailed information.                          Hello Shipmates,
(wwwfra382.org)                                              I have some sad news for all of our
         I would like to thank all the shipmates    Shipmates. Jacob (Jake) Sattler a MGYSGT in
that have worked all summer at keeping the          the Corps and a member of the FRA passed
Branch home grounds looking good. Thanks,           away on Saturday, September 28th at the
Jim, Don, Chuck, Les, Tom, John, Bill and any       Veterans Hospital. His family was present at
others I have missed.                               the time and a flag covered his body when he
         We lost one of our shipmates this past     was taken to be prepared for burial. Some
weekend. MGYSGT Jacob (Jake) Sattler USMC           veterans walking by as he was loaded into the
Ret has reported to his final duty station on the   vehicle stopped and saluted. A couple who
Staff of the Supreme Commander after a long         were in wheel chairs even stood as he taken by
battle with cancer. His presence in the Branch      to the vehicle. I will be getting the information
will be greatly missed.                             on his burial and services. I will pass it on to all
         A well-deserved hand for Shipmate Jay      of our members. It would be great if we had a
Reynolds for 10 years of continuous                 large group there to honor him.
membership. See you at the meeting, Jay, and                 Now for some good news, my wife and I
we will give you your pin.                          just got back from a cruise on the ship "Star
         The next Branch meeting is Saturday,       Princess" traveling to Alaska. We had a great
Oct 12 at 1000. We have coffee and donuts so        dinner for our 60th wedding anniversary
get there early. And, we have coffee every          sponsored by Captain Michele Tuvo, and the
Wednesday at 1400 at Treasure Valley Coffee         next night we were invited to the "Captain's
off of Cloverdale and Emerald in Boise.             Circle" party. I would like to say thanks to Larry
         A thought for you shipmates: “Friends      Carson, Don Franklin, and Bill Sutherland for
are angels who lift us to our feet when our         representing the FRA on Sept. 14th at the
wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” --      Veterans Hospital, "Good Work Men". I don't
Anonymous                                           have much more to say, so I will leave with this
         Be happy and safe in all that you do.      thought an old wise Marine once told me,
                                                             "Never under any circumstances take a
In Loyalty, Protection & Service,                   sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night."
Danny Hunt,                                                  Hope to see you all at our meeting on
President Branch 382                                October 12th.
                                                             Semper Fidelis
News from the Branch Vice                           Jim Murrell
President:                                          Vice President Branch 382

Branch and Unit Events:
October                                             November
Breast Cancer Awareness Month                       National Military Family Month
12 – Branch and Unit Meeting – 1000                 Warrior Care Month
13 – Navy Birthday (244 Years)                      National Family Caregivers Month
14 – Columbus Day                                   02 – Boise Veterans Day Parade
26 – Day of the Deployed                            03- Daylight Savings Time Ends
27 – Navy Day                                       09 – Branch and Unit Meeting - 1000
31 – Halloween                                      10 – Marine Corps Birthday (244 Years)
                                                    11 – Veterans Day

11 – Armistice/Remembrance Day
                                                          28 – Thanksgiving

Branch Birthdays:
October                                                   November
06 – James Lusk                                           02 – Robert Davis
16 – Oscar Rodgers                                        12 – Richard Hutchinson
20 – Eddie Pinson                                         20 – Michael Banner
21 – William Peer                                         21 – Lester Meade
22 – Wilbur Barth                                         23 – Thomas Waller
27 – Hazel Bettencourt                                    25 – Daniel Holloway
30 – David Roe
31 – Stephen Lord

Continuous Membership Milestone:
Jay Reynolds, Jr. – USMC/Ret – 10 Years

This Day in Naval History:
October 01, 1880 - John Phillip Sousa becomes leader of Marine Corps Band.
October 04, 1944 - Pfc. Wesley Phelps, while serving with the First Marines on Peleliu Island,
immediately rolls onto a grenade after it is thrown into a foxhole he shares with another Marine, saving
his comrade’s life. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" he is posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor.
October 09, 1942 - The first three schools for enlisted WAVES open at Stillwater, Okla. (Yeoman),
Bloomington, Ind. (Storekeepers), and Madison, Wis. (Radiomen).
October 13, 1775 - The Continental Congress votes for two vessels to be fitted out and armed with 10
carriage guns, a proportional number of swivel guns, and crews of 80 then sent out on a cruise of three
months to intercept transports carrying munitions and stores to the British army in America. This
legislation, out of which the Continental Navy grew, constitutes the birth of the U.S. Navy.
October 22, 1972 - The Navy Counselor (NC) rating is established to assist in managing retention and
augmenting recruiting with subject matter experts in the all-volunteer force. The rating is not open to
first-term enlistees due to depth of the Navy’s organization, and only second and first class petty officers
are accepted to join the rate.
October 31, 1966 - While serving as boat captain and patrol officer on board River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105
in Vietnam, Boatswains Mate 1st Class James E. Williams and his crew are taken under fire, facing a
superior number of enemy vessels. Williams leads his men to sink 65 enemy craft and inflict numerous
casualties among the enemy. He is awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. USS James E. Williams
(DDG 95) is named in his honor.
October 31, 1972 - While participating in a daring operation against enemy forces in the Republic of
Vietnam, Engineman 1st Class Michael E. Thornton and Lt. Thomas R. Norris come under fire from a
numerically superior force. Calling in for support and engaging the enemy, Norris is wounded by enemy
fire. Learning that his lieutenant is down, Thornton bravely rushes through a hail of fire, fights off two
enemy soldiers, and succeeds in removing Norris. Inflating Norris lifejacket, Thornton then tows him

seaward for approximately two hours until they are picked up by support craft. Thornton is later
awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

October Medal of Honor Awards
Wesley Phelps
         Wesley Phelps was born in Neafus, Kentucky on June 12, 1923. He was educated in the Ohio
County, Kentucky, elementary schools and graduated from Horse Branch High School in 1942. Radio was
his hobby and he had built some one-tube sets. Deciding to turn his hobby into an occupation, he went
to school in Owensboro, Kentucky, for four months where he studied basic electricity, then took a three-
month course in radio repair work at the Lafayette Trade School at Lexington, Kentucky. He followed
that with studies in field radio repair work, and radio repair work on aircraft receivers at the Johnson
Pre-Frequency Modulation School.
         Although he was the sole support of his aged parents who owned and operated a 70-acre farm
with his help, he was called up by the draft and was inducted into the United States Marine Corps on
April 9, 1943 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

After boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Pvt Phelps was assigned to the Signal
Battalion at the Marine Base at San Diego for one month and then was transferred to the Infantry
Training Battalion at Camp Elliot, California. He successfully completed an eight-week course on the
Browning Heavy Machine Gun, 30 caliber, and was classified as a heavy machine gunner. Pvt Phelps
joined the 27th Replacement Battalion in September and left the United States on October 23, 1943,
joining Company M, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines of the 1st Marine Division in December, just a few days
before the unit left for the combat landing on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. After the Cape Gloucester
campaign, all machine gun companies in the division, of which Company M was one, were broken up
and their personnel were assigned to rifle companies. In this shuffle, Pvt Phelps became a crewman on a
light machine gun in Company K of the same battalion. He was promoted to private first class in April
1944.
         After a so-called "rest" at Pavuvu Island in the Russell Islands, the 1st Division left for the little-
publicized Peleliu Island operation. After nineteen days of bitter and costly fighting, the night of October
4, 1944 found Company K strung out along the military crest of one of the coral mountains for which
Peleliu is noted. With the Marines on one slope of the hill and the Japanese on the opposite slope, rifles
became useless and a series of hand grenade battles took place over a period of several days. During the
night of the fourth the enemy launched a particularly vicious counterattack. PFC Phelps and a fellow
Marine were in a foxhole when a Japanese grenade landed with a thud between them.
         Private First Class Phelps shouted, "Look out, Shipley!" then unhesitatingly rolled over on the
grenade, taking the full force of the explosion with his own body. Phelps was killed while PFC Richard
Shipley received only a small scratch.
         Private First Class Phelps was initially buried in the United States Armed Forces Cemetery on
Peleliu, but was later reinterred in Rosine Cemetery, Rosine, Kentucky.
         The Medal of Honor was presented to his mother in Rosine, Kentucky, on April 26, 1946 by the
Commanding Officer of the Naval Ordnance Plant at Louisville, Kentucky.

Medal of Honor Citation
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

                                   PRIVATE FIRST CLASS WESLEY PHELPS
                                  UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS RESERVE

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while
serving with the Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in action against enemy
Japanese forces on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, during a savage hostile counterattack on the night of
October 4, 1944. Stationed with another Marine in an advanced position when a Japanese hand grenade
landed in his foxhole, Private First Class Phelps instantly shouted a warning to his comrade and rolled
over on the deadly bomb, absorbing with his own Body the full, shattering impact of the exploding
charge. Courageous and indomitable, Private First Class Phelps fearlessly gave his life that another might
be spared serious injury and his great valor and heroic devotion to duty in the face of certain death
reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life
for his country.
                                            /S/ HARRY S TRUMAN

James E. Williams
        James Elliott "Willie" Williams (November 13, 1930 – October 13, 1999) was a Cherokee Indian
and an honorary United States Navy chief boatswain's mate who was awarded the Medal of Honor
during the Vietnam Conflict. Boatswain's Mate First Class Williams was one of 32 Native Americans to
receive the medal and is considered to be the most decorated enlisted man in the history of the US
Navy.

         Chief Williams was born in Fort Mill, South Carolina and moved two months later with his
parents to Darlington, South Carolina where he spent his early childhood and youth. He attended the
local schools and graduated from St. John's high school. In 1949, Williams married the former Elaine
Weaver and they had five children (daughter, Debbie, sons, James E. "Jr.", Stephen Michael, Charles E.,
and daughter, Gail) and seven grandchildren.
         In 1999, Williams died on the Navy's birthday, October 13, and was buried at the Florence
National Cemetery in Florence, South Carolina.
         Williams enlisted in the United States Navy on August 8, 1947, at the age of 16, and completed
basic training at Naval Training Center San Diego. He served for almost twenty years, retiring on April 26,
1967 as a boatswain's mate first class. During those years, he served in both the Korean War and
Vietnam War. On May 14, 1968, Williams was presented the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B.
Johnson during the dedication ceremony of the "Hall of Heroes" in the Pentagon. In 1977, he received
the honorary title of chief boatswain's mate.

During the Korean War, Williams served aboard the destroyer USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) from
November 1950 to June 1952. He served off the coast of Korea where he was detached off the destroyer
to take raiding parties into North Korea on small boats from March to June 1952.
         In Vietnam April 1966, with the enlisted rank of petty officer first class and the rate of
boatswain's mate 1st class (BM1), Williams was assigned in May to the River Patrol Force, River
Squadron Five, in command of River Patrol Boat 105 (PBR-105). The force's mission was to intercept Viet
Cong (VC-Vietnamese Communists) and North Vietnamese arms shipments, supplies, and personnel on
the waterways of South Vietnam's Mekong Delta and to keep innocent boat traffic on the river and
canals safe.
         On October 31, 1966, Williams was commanding PBR 105 alongside another PBR searching for
Viet Cong guerrillas operating in an isolated area of the Mekong Delta. Suddenly, Viet Cong manning two
sampans opened fire on the Americans. While Williams and his men neutralized one sampan, the other
one escaped into a nearby canal. The PBRs gave chase and soon found themselves in a beehive of
enemy activity as the VC opened fire on them with rocket propelled grenades and small arms from
fortified river bank positions.
         Williams repeatedly led the PBRs against concentrations of enemy junks and sampans. He also
called for support from the heavily armed UH-1B Huey helicopters of Navy Helicopter Attack (Light)
Squadron 3, the "Seawolves." When that help arrived, he kicked off another attack in the failing light. As
a result of the three-hour battle, the U.S. naval force killed 1,000 Viet Cong guerrillas, destroyed over
fifty vessels, and disrupted a major enemy logistic operation. For his actions on that date he was
awarded the Medal of Honor.

Medal of Honor Citation
Rank and organization: Boatswain's Mate First Class (PO1c.), United States Navy, River Section 531, My
Tho, RVN, Place and date: Mekong River, Republic of Vietnam, October 31, 1966. Entered service at:
Columbia, S.C. Born: June 13, 1930, Rock Hill, S.C.

CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. BM1
Williams was serving as Boat Captain and Patrol Officer aboard River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 accompanied
by another patrol boat when the patrol was suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy sampans. BM1
Williams immediately ordered the fire returned, killing the crew of 1 enemy boat and causing the other
sampan to take refuge in a nearby river inlet. Pursuing the fleeing sampan, the U.S. patrol encountered a
heavy volume of small-arms fire from enemy forces, at close range, occupying well-concealed positions
along the river bank. Maneuvering through this fire, the patrol confronted a numerically superior enemy
force aboard 2 enemy junks and 8 sampans augmented by heavy automatic weapons fire from ashore.
In the savage battle that ensued, BM1 Williams, with utter disregard for his safety exposed himself to
the withering hail of enemy fire to direct counter-fire and inspire the actions of his patrol. Recognizing
the overwhelming strength of the enemy force, BM1 Williams deployed his patrol to await the arrival of
armed helicopters. In the course of his movement he discovered an even larger concentration of enemy
boats. Not waiting for the arrival of the armed helicopters, he displayed great initiative and boldly led
the patrol through the intense enemy fire and damaged or destroyed 50 enemy sampans and 7 junks.
This phase of the action completed, and with the arrival of the armed helicopters, BM1 Williams
directed the attack on the remaining enemy force. Now virtually dark, and although BM1 Williams was
aware that his boats would become even better targets, he ordered the patrol boats' search lights

turned on to better illuminate the area and moved the patrol perilously close to shore to press the
attack. Despite a waning supply of ammunition, the patrol successfully engaged the enemy ashore and
completed the rout of the enemy force. Under the leadership of BM1 Williams, who demonstrated
unusual professional skill and indomitable courage throughout the 3-hour battle, the patrol accounted
for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy boats and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy
personnel. His extraordinary heroism and exemplary fighting spirit in the face of grave risks inspired the
efforts of his men to defeat a larger enemy force, and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S.
Naval Service.

                                          |S| Lyndon B. Johnson

Michael E. Thornton
        Michael Edwin Thornton (born March 23, 1949) is a retired United States Navy SEAL and
recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam
War. He was awarded the medal for saving the life of his senior officer, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris,
who also earned the Medal of Honor in an unrelated incident.

       Born on March 23, 1949, in Greenville, South Carolina, Thornton graduated from high school in
1967 and enlisted in the United States Navy later that year in Spartanburg.
       He served aboard destroyers as a gunner's mate apprentice until November 1968, when he
attended United States Navy SEAL selection and training at Coronado, California. He was among only 16

students who graduated from BUD/S class 49 in 1969, which started with 129 members. Upon
graduation, he was assigned directly to SEAL Team ONE and began a series of combat tours in Southeast
Asia which ran from 1969 to December 1972.
         He conducted intelligence gathering operations across Vietnam. By the last quarter of 1972, U.S.
involvement in the region had waned and Thornton, by then a petty officer, was one of only a dozen
SEALs remaining in Vietnam.
         On October 31 of that year, he participated in a mission to capture prisoners and gather
intelligence from the Qua Viet Naval Base near the coast of Quảng Trị Province, just south of the
Demilitarized Zone. In addition to Thornton, the mission team consisted of SEAL Lieutenant Thomas R.
Norris, and three experienced Vietnamese men Thornton had worked with before, members of the
LDNN, the South Vietnamese Special Forces. The group was transported by junk until sunset, then
paddled a rubber boat to within a mile of shore and swam the remaining distance. Moving inland past
numerous North Vietnamese encampments, the group reconnoitered through the night.
         The team soon realized that they had landed too far north and were actually in North Vietnam.
They found large numbers of bunker complexes and heavy concentrations of North Vietnamese troops.
They patrolled slowly through the middle of the enemy troops, gathering intelligence as they went.
         The group encountered a two-man North Vietnamese patrol on the beach, which the South
Vietnamese attempted to capture. Thornton chased one of the enemy back towards the jungle to
prevent him from alerting others. When Thornton shot him, about 50 North Vietnamese soldiers chased
after him. Moving from one position to another, Thornton and the others kept the enemy confused
about the number of troops they faced. Thornton was wounded in the back by a grenade. He contacted
a destroyer and requested naval gunfire support, but unknown to Thornton it was struck by North
Vietnamese shore batteries and unable to fire. A second destroyer was unable to maneuver into firing
position for the same reason.
         For the next four hours, the five men held off an enemy force estimated at about 150 strong.
Norris attempted to call in the Vietnamese junk boats, one of which had a mortar on board, but the
destroyers forbid them from entering the line of fire. Thornton, Norris and the three Vietnamese were
alone and nearly surrounded. Near dawn, Norris ordered the group to extract towards the beach, and
they leap-frogged towards the surf. Norris was able to contact the cruiser USS Newport News (CA-148)
and requested that they fire for effect to cover their withdrawal. Norris covered the group's rearward
movement. As he prepared to fire a LAW rocket at a group of 70 to 75 North Vietnamese troops
attacking his position, he was severely wounded by a round through his head.
         One of the South Vietnamese who saw Norris get shot assumed he was dead. Thornton, upon
hearing the news, ran about 400 yards to the last location he saw Norris to recover the body of his fallen
comrade. When he found Norris, he saw that "the whole side of his head was completely gone." As
enemy troops overran his position, he stopped to shoot several. Thornton put Norris on his shoulders
and ran back towards the beach when the first shell from the Newport News struck the beach. The
concussion from the round blew Thornton and Norris 20 feet into the air. It also slowed the advance of
the enemy troops, and Thornton picked up Norris who he discovered was just barely alive.
         Thornton carried Norris into the surf and began to swim with him. One of the Vietnamese was
shot in the buttocks and couldn't swim, so Thornton grabbed him as well and pushed both of them out
to sea. Bullets landed in the sea all around them. The Newport News left, thinking that the Americans
and South Vietnamese had been killed. Thornton bandaged Norris' wound as well as he could and swam
for about three hours. One of the South Vietnamese was finally picked up by the junk. He reported that
the two Americans were dead, which was relayed to the Newport News. Thornton fired Norris' AK-47 to
draw the attention of the junk. They were picked up and then transported to the Newport News.
Thornton carried Norris to the operating room, where the doctor told Thornton, "There's no way he's
going to make it."

For these actions, Thornton was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon during
a ceremony at the White House on October 15, 1973. The man Thornton rescued, Thomas Norris,
survived his wounds and was awarded the Medal of Honor from President Gerald R. Ford in a White
House ceremony on March 6, 1976, for his April 1972 rescue of Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Hambleton and
First Lieutenant Mark Clark in the rescue of Bat 21 Bravo. Thornton received a commission in 1982 as a
limited duty officer and retired as a lieutenant.

Medal of Honor Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while
participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor,
along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy
SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied
naval river base. Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and
was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically
superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce
firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent
encirclement. Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be
dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant's last position; quickly disposed of 2
enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and
unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water's edge. He then inflated the lieutenant's lifejacket and
towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft. By his extraordinary
courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior
officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions
of the U.S. Naval Service.

John Henry Pruitt
        John Henry Pruitt was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on 4 October 1896. He enlisted as a private
in the U.S. Marine Corps on 3 May 1917 and joined the 6th Regiment of Marines in July 1917. He went
overseas with the 78th Company, 6th Regiment.
        He participated in engagements with the enemy at Chateau-Thierry, Bouresches, and Belleau
Wood before he was gassed 14 June 1918 and sent to a base hospital. Upon his recovery, he returned to
the front and fought in the Marbache Sector, St. Mihiel, Thiaucourt, and later at Blanc Mont in the
Champagne Sector. He was officially cited for bravery in action, near Thiaucourt, France, 15 September
1918, for aiding in the capture of an enemy machine gun.
        Corporal Pruitt was mortally wounded in action at Blanc Mont on 3 October 1918 and died the
following day. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the battle that
took his life.
        Besides his citations, Cpl Pruitt was posthumously awarded both the Army and Navy Medals of
Honor, French Croix de Guerre, and the Italian Cross of Military Valor.
        The destroyer USS Pruitt (DD-347), launched 2 August 1920 at the Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine,
was named in his memory.

MARINE CORPS DOUBLE MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT.
        World War I marked the last of the DOUBLE recipients of the Medal of Honor, the changes of
the Medal of Honor review board of 1917 establishing that only ONE Medal of Honor could be awarded
to any person. The five double recipients from World War I were all members of the United States
Marine Corps, working closely with soldiers of the U.S. Army. For this reason, they were initially awarded
the ARMY Medal of Honor. Later, they were awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Medal of Honor for the
same action. Unlike previous double recipients, their double award was presented for one action, not
two separate actions.

Medal of Honor Citations:
ARMY
Cpl. Pruitt single-handed attacked 2 machineguns, capturing them and killing 2 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.
NAVY
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, single-handed attacked 2 machineguns, capturing them and killing 2 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 the enemy.

Received BOTH the Army and Navy Medal of Honor for the same action.