Maurice Edward Barnett, Jr.

First Lieutenant Barnett was one of the twenty men in his company who helped capture Bouresches on June 6th. The following day he won a citation for “displaying qualities of leadership and coolness under fire in leading patrols to posts through heavy machine gun fire.” Soon thereafter, on June 14th, he was exposed to gas and was unable to return to service until August. He was then promoted to Lieutenant and took part in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel (12-15 Sept 1918), the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge (03 – 27 Oct 1918), and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (26 Sept 1918 – 11 Nov 1918) during which he was reported wounded in action. He was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross and the Croix de Guerre for “extraordinary heroism in action,” and promoted to First Lieutenant in November. First Lieutenant Barnett was killed in action at the Battle of Château-Thierry