For those that are wounded early throughout a days-long battle, the look ahead to reduction might be excruciating. Many have pushed via that ache to proceed preventing, although, together with Army 1st Lt. Deming Bronson. Despite a number of critical accidents, Bronson persevered to assist lead his fellow troopers to success throughout one of many final battles of World War I.
Bronson was born on July 8, 1894, in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. In 1903, his mother and father moved the household to Seattle, the place Bronson and his two older sisters and two youthful brothers grew up.
Bronson performed soccer from 1912 to 1916 on the University of Washington, the place he graduated with a level in forestry. He was commissioned into the Army when the U.S. joined World War I in 1917.
By September 1918, Bronson was serving with the American Expeditionary Force in France when the Meuse-Argonne Offensive started. The bloody marketing campaign was one of many conflict's last battles and lasted till the declaration of an armistice that ended the battle.
Bronson was a primary lieutenant with Company H of the 364th Infantry Regiment, 91st Division. On Sept. 26, 1918, they have been ordered to advance on the enemy close to Eclisfontaine, France. Early within the engagement, Bronson was hit by hand grenade shrapnel, which left deep cuts on his face and head. That did not hold him from pushing ahead along with his males via open territory, although. With no cowl, the unit used hand grenades and phosphorus bombs to seize an enemy dugout and take a number of troopers prisoner.
Bronson was hit by a bullet within the left arm later that afternoon. A fellow soldier patched him up, however he was directed to the rear of the regiment to get extra assist. Bronson disregarded these directions and stayed along with his firm via the evening, all whereas struggling via extreme ache and shock.
The subsequent morning, the 364th pushed ahead to seize Eclisfontaine. Bronson's firm was tasked with supporting the attacking line, however as a substitute, the primary lieutenant joined that line and fought his means into the village. He even took out an enemy gunner to assist seize an enemy machine gun nest.
Unfortunately, a heavy barrage of enemy artillery compelled the unit to withdraw from the village. Bronson remained till all the opposite troopers had retreated. That sacrifice left him with additional accidents after he was hit in each arms by an exploding enemy shell. Another officer had to assist him get to cowl, the place they may render first assist.
By then, Bronson was bleeding closely and faint from the blood loss, however he nonetheless refused to go to the rear of the regiment for medical remedy. He stayed with the entrance line via the evening of that second day earlier than being evacuated to a subject hospital. After he left, Allied troopers have been capable of recapture Eclisfontaine for a last time on Sept. 28, 1918.
Less than a month later, Germany surrendered, and the conflict was over.
Bronson absolutely recovered and returned to the U.S. He left the Army and have become an govt with a paint firm in Ohio and New Jersey. In 1925, he married Dorothy Brown, with whom he had two daughters.
More than a decade after his heroics in Eclisfontaine, Bronson realized he had earned the Medal of Honor. He obtained the medal from President Herbert Hoover throughout a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 1929.
Eventually, Bronson moved his household to Roseburg, Oregon, the place he labored for his household's lumber enterprise. According to the Idaho Statesman newspaper, he was lively in veterans affairs and did a stint because the nationwide commander of the Army and Navy Legion of Valor.
Bronson died on May 29, 1957, whereas at a hospital in Boise, Idaho. He was 62. The former Army hero was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Bronson's reminiscence lives on at his alma mater. In 2009, a monument was devoted to him and 7 different University of Washington alumni who have been additionally Medal of Honor recipients.
This article is a part of a weekly sequence referred to as "Medal of Honor Monday," by which we spotlight one of many greater than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who've earned the U.S. army's highest medal for valor.
