John Hunter Wickersham - World War I Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

J. H. Wickersham

Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army

353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Division

Entered the Service from - Colorado
Died - September 12, 1918
Buried at - Plot B Row 19 Grave 12
St. Mihiel American Cemetery
Thiaucourt, France
Awards - Medal of Honor and Italian Croix de Guerre

John Hunter Wickersham
Birth - Feb. 3, 1890
Death - Sep. 12, 1918

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Wickersham entered the service at Denver, Colorado. He was serving as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division, AEF, near Limey, France, during the opening of the St. Mihiel Offensive when he performed the deeds for which he was awarded the CMOH.

From his citation: "Advancing with his platoon during the St. Mihiel offensive, he was severely wounded in four places by the bursting of a high-explosive shell. Before receiving any aid for himself, he dressed the wounds of his orderly, who was wounded at the same time. He then ordered and accompanied the further advance of his platoon, although weakened by the loss of blood. His right hand and arm being disabled by wounds, he continued to fire his revolver with his left hand until, exhausted by loss of blood, he fell and died from his wounds before aid could be administered." Shortly before going into action, Wickersham penned what some consider the finest Doughhboy poem, “The Rain Drops on Your Old Tin Hat,” which begins: “The mist hangs low and quiet on a ragged line of hills / There's a whispering of wind across the flat / You'd be feeling kind of lonesome if it wasn't for one thing / The patter of the raindrops on your old tin hat.” There is a cenotaph in Wickersham’s memory at Fairmount Cemetery, Denver, Colorado.