43 Facts About Samuel Woodfill

Samuel Woodfill was a major in the United States Army.

Samuel Woodfill was among the three soldiers chosen to dedicate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, joining fellow Medal of Honor recipients Charles Whittlesey and Alvin York.

Samuel Woodfill retired to a farm near Vevay, Indiana, where he lived until his death.

Samuel Woodfill was born January 6,1883, near Bryantsburg, Indiana to John Samuel Goode Woodfill and Christina Woodfill.

Samuel Woodfill learned to hunt at an early age and was a good shot by age ten.

Samuel Woodfill received a basic education in local schools and enlisted in the 11th Infantry of the United States Army on March 8,1901.

The United States was occupying the Philippines when Samuel Woodfill was dispatched as a private.

Samuel Woodfill was involved in a number of conflicts with the Filipino guerilla forces.

Samuel Woodfill remained in the Philippines until 1904 before being transferred to Alaska that same year to serve at Fort Egbert until its closure in 1911.

Not wanting to leave Alaska, Samuel Woodfill remained and served at Fort Gibbon.

In 1914 Samuel Woodfill was dispatched as part of a force to guard the Mexican American border during the Mexican Civil War.

About this time, Samuel Woodfill began courting Lorena "Blossom" Wiltshire and the couple married on December 26,1917.

Samuel Woodfill's regiment was placed in the defenses between Meuse and the Argonne in France in August 1918.

Samuel Woodfill ordered his men to charge the emplacement, which was quickly overrun and three Germans captured.

Samuel Woodfill was first to reach the gun emplacement and entered the bunker pit.

Samuel Woodfill discharged all the shots in his pistol without hitting either of the two soldiers manning the position.

Samuel Woodfill then seized a nearby pick axe and clubbed the two soldiers to death.

None of his men died in the fierce fighting, but several, including Samuel Woodfill, were hospitalized in Bordeaux after their retreat.

Samuel Woodfill saw no more action for the remainder of the war and remained in medical care for several weeks while he received treatment for the effects of the poisonous gas.

Samuel Woodfill's heroics earned him a number of decorations, but he would suffer from weakened lungs for the rest of his life.

Samuel Woodfill was promoted to captain in the Infantry on March 25,1919.

Samuel Woodfill was regarded as one of the country's great heroes of World War I, but apparently struggled to make a living after the war.

Samuel Woodfill took a job in 1922 as a $6-a-day carpenter working on the Ohio River dam project at Silver Grove.

Samuel Woodfill retired from the Army as a master sergeant on December 24,1923.

Samuel Woodfill was promoted to the rank of captain on the retired list by an act of Congress on May 7,1932.

In 1924, an effort was made by some independent Democrats to encourage Woodfill to run for the United States Congress and challenge Democratic incumbent Arthur B Rouse.

When Samuel Woodfill was proposed as a candidate for Congress, he was out of town doing promotional work for American Legion posts in Massachusetts.

Mrs Samuel Woodfill, contacted at her home in Fort Thomas, downplayed the idea.

Mrs Samuel Woodfill said her husband disliked public events because he was basically a bashful person who did not enjoy the glare of public attention.

That account said Samuel Woodfill was living in retirement on a farm in Campbell County.

Samuel Woodfill told a Kentucky Times-Star reporter at the time he was not aware the Army was going to give him the commission, which he termed a pleasant surprise.

Samuel Woodfill was 59 and the Army commissions were part of a national campaign to boost national spirit and enlistments.

Samuel Woodfill was later featured in an Army publicity picture, which showed him firing a rifle at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Samuel Woodfill apparently spent most of the war as an instructor in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 1944, Samuel Woodfill again resigned from the Army, and he retired to a farm near Vevay in Switzerland County, Indiana.

Samuel Woodfill added that cookies and a big bowl of fresh fruit were always on the family table.

Samuel Woodfill said the Woodfills had no children and Mrs Woodfill seemed to enjoy having a young girl visit her.

Samuel Woodfill was found dead at the Indiana farm on August 13,1951, at the age of 68.

Samuel Woodfill apparently had died of natural causes several days before he was found.

Samuel Woodfill was initially buried in the Jefferson County Cemetery near Madison, Indiana.

The fourth, an officer, rushed at First Lieutenant Samuel Woodfill, who attempted to club the officer with his rifle.

Samuel Woodfill then drew his revolver and started to jump into the pit, when two other gunners only a few yards away turned their gun on him.

Note: Major Samuel Woodfill's injuries suffered in gas attacks made him eligible to receive the Purple Heart, but there is no evidence he ever received the decoration.