MAJ Charles Whittlesey

Aug 3, 2019 | Army

U.S. forces pinned down in the Argonne Forest (Credit: Getty Images) An attorney by trade, Major Charles Whittlesey later made his name as the uncompromising commander of the so-called “Lost Battalion,” an American unit that became stuck behind German lines. On...

Sergeant Alvin York

Jul 28, 2019 | Army

Sergeant Alvin York was once described as World War I’s “greatest civilian soldier,” yet he began the conflict as a conscientious objector. A deeply devout man from the small mountain town of Pall Mall, Tennessee, York initially resisted serving on the grounds that...

Frank Luke

Jul 27, 2019 | Army Air Corps

Renegade pilot Frank Luke was America’s greatest “balloon buster,” the nickname assigned to the brash aviators who attacked German observation balloons used to sight artillery. Luke joined the 27th Aero Squadron in France in July 1918, and wasted little time in...

PVT John Joseph Kelly

Jun 21, 2019 | Marines

On October 3, 1918, Kelly ran through an artillery barrage, took out a German machinegun nest, and captured eight prisoners single-handed. Both the Army and the Marine Corps nominated him for their respective Medals of Honor, and both were approved, so he received...

PVT William Keller

Jun 12, 2019 | Army

William Keller was born in Philadelphia on January 18, 1900. At 16, he left Philadelphia to enlist in the U.S. Army, serving as a private during World War I from June 20, 1916 through May 26, 1919. Keller is remembered by Joe Grossmann. Upon returning to Philadelphia...