Michael B. Ellis (October 28, 1894 – December 9, 1937) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

sergeant and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

, for his actions in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Early life and career

Ellis was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

, on October 28, 1894. His mother died when he was an infant, and his father was too poor to provide for him properly. He was adopted by a Polish family, the Moczdlowskis, who lived in East St. Louis, Illinois. After attending St. Laurence O'Toole

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

, he quit school at age 12 and worked in his adoptive father's print shop. Four years later, on February 8, 1912, he enlisted in the United States Army at

Jefferson Barracks, Missouri The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation ...

. He served with Company K, 7th Infantry, along the border with

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and at

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. When his three-year term of service expired, Ellis received an honorable discharge, but after six months of civilian life he re-enlisted. Sent to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

as a private in Company C,

28th Infantry Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, three regiments have held the designation 28th Infantry Regiment. The first was a provisional unit that was constituted on 29 January 1813 and served during The War of 1812. The second ...

, 1st Division, he saw front-line action for 200 days near

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

. He was promoted to corporal on April 16, 1917, and to sergeant a month later. The official record of the War Department states:

He showed unusual courage in carrying supplies and in attacking strong points at Brouil, Pleissy, and Berney-le-Sac. Our allies, recognizing Sergeant Ellis' bravery, awarded him the Chevalier Legion of Honor of France, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm, the Cross of War of Italy, Cross of War of Poland and Recognition by the
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Government, two medals, Senior and Junior.

On October 5, 1918, Ellis' division was participating in the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Central Powers ...

near

Exermont Exermont () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France. The communes cooperate ...

in northeast France. Ellis advanced ahead of his company and single-handedly attacked several

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machine gun nests. In total, he silenced eleven machine guns and captured dozens of enemy soldiers. After many campaigns throughout France, he was promoted to first sergeant. In August 1919, he returned to St. Louis, where General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the We ...

presented him with the Medal of Honor for his actions near Exermont. He was the only soldier in Pershing's 1st Division to receive this honor. Ellis later had difficulty finding a job as a civilian. Informed of his troubles, President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

arranged for him to work at the post office in St. Louis. On January 2, 1921, Ellis met a young woman of Polish descent. They discovered they had been childhood playmates in East St. Louis; the two were married on February 13, 1923, in St. Louis. Ellis died of pneumonia in a Chicago hospital on December 9, 1937. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county i ...

.Burial Detail: Ellis, Michael B (Section 6, Grave 9520)
– ANC Explorer

Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 28th Infantry, 1st Division. Place and date: At Exermont, France; October 5, 1918. Entered service at: East St. Louis, Illinois. Born: October 28, 1894; St. Louis, Missouri. General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 74 (June 7, 1919). Citation:

During the entire day's engagement Sergeant Ellis operated far in advance of the first wave of his company, voluntarily undertaking most dangerous missions and single-handedly attacking and reducing machinegun nests. Flanking one emplacement, he killed two of the enemy with rifle fire and captured 17 others. Later he single-handedly advanced under heavy fire and captured 27 prisoners, including two officers and six machineguns, which had been holding up the advance of the company. The captured officers indicated the locations of four other machineguns, and he in turn captured these, together with their crews, at all times showing marked heroism and fearlessness.

Military Awards

Ellis' military decorations and awards include:

References

External links

* *
Michael B. Ellis
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Michael B. 1894 births 1937 deaths Military personnel from St. Louis United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Silver Star World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)