- Charles D. Barger
-
Charles Denver Barger 
Charles Denver Barger, Medal of Honor recipientBorn June 3, 1892
Mount Vernon, MissouriDied November 25, 1936 (aged 44) Place of burial Blue Springs Cemetery Allegiance 
United States of AmericaService/branch United States Army Years of service 1903-1921 Rank Private First Class Unit 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division Battles/wars World War I
• Meuse-Argonne OffensiveAwards Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Bronze Star
Purple Heart (10)
Médaille militaire (France)
Croix de guerre (France)
Croce di Guerra (Italy)Charles Denver Barger (June 3, 1892 – November 25, 1936) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War I. He earned the medal while serving as a stretcher bearer during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, when he and another soldier, Jesse N. Funk, entered no man's land despite heavy fire and rescued two wounded officers.
Contents
Early life
Barger was born in Mount Vernon, Missouri, and grew up in nearby Stotts City. After his father died when he was six, his mother turned him over to an orphanage. He was adopted and did not see his mother again until after World War I.[1]
Military service
Barger joined the Army from Stotts City, and by October 31, 1918, was a private first class serving as a stretcher bearer in Company L of the 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Division.[2] On that day, near Bois-de-Bantheville, France, Barger's division sent several patrols into no man's land to reconnoiter German positions in preparation for an advance as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Unusually, the patrols had been sent out during daylight, rather than waiting for the cover of darkness. Two patrols from Barger's regiment became pinned down by heavy rifle and machine gun fire. Second Lieutenant John M. Millis was seriously wounded in the legs and ordered his men to leave without him. One man managed to crawl to the safety of the Allied lines and brought news that Millis and another wounded officer were trapped in no man's land.[3]
Upon hearing this, Barger and another stretcher bearer, Private First Class Jesse N. Funk, voluntarily ran 500 yards (460 m) through heavy machine gun fire with their stretcher and rescued Millis.[2][3] They then returned to no man's land and rescued the other officer, First Lieutenant Ernest G. Rowell.[3] For these actions, both Barger and Funk were awarded the Medal of Honor the next year.[2] These were the only Medals of Honor received by Army medical personnel in World War I.[4] Barger was awarded numerous other decorations for his service in the war, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, ten Purple Hearts, and a number of foreign decorations such as the Médaille militaire and Croix de guerre from France and the Croce di Guerra from Italy.[1]
After the war, Barger returned to the United States and left the military, having served only one year.[5]
Later years and death
Barger married Ruth Bailey and had three children: Charles D. Barger, Jr., born in 1923, Joseph Elmer Barger, born in 1924, and "Dodi" Mable Louise Barger, born in 1927.[1] He had difficulty adjusting to civilian life and struggled to stay employed. He was a member of the American Legion, and fellow veterans from that group helped him find work until "the general public and those who could give employment to veterans became apathetic to the appeals for help on the ground[s that] he was a national hero".[6] He worked on his adoptive uncle's farm near Stotts City in 1920, as a construction worker in Waco, Missouri, the next year, and then as a Kansas City police officer.[5][7] He remained with the police force for twelve years before moving to a farm four miles southwest of Oak Grove, outside of Kansas City.[8]
On the night of November 23, 1936, county police were called to Barger's home, where they found him wielding a large hunting knife and setting fire to his farmhouse. He had three self-inflicted wounds to his throat, and the deputies reported that "his clothing was torn and his body burned in a dozen places." When the officers attempted to arrest him for threatening to kill his wife, he lunged at them with the knife. Deputy Frank Ridenour fired in self defense, seriously wounding Barger. He was taken to the Kansas City General Hospital and died two days later.[8] He was buried at Blue Springs Cemetery in Blue Springs, not far from his Oak Grove home.[6][9]
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company L, 354th Infantry, 89th Division. Place and date: Near Bois-deBantheville, France, 31 October 1918. Entered service at: Stotts City, Mo. Birth: Mount Vernon, Mo. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919.
Citation:
Learning that 2 daylight patrols had been caught out in No Man's Land and were unable to return, Pfc. Barger and another stretcher bearer upon their own initiative made 2 trips 500 yards beyond our lines, under constant machinegun fire, and rescued 2 wounded officers.[2]
See also
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.
- ^ a b c Littleton, Mark R.; Charles Wright (2005). Doc: heroic stories of medics, corpsmen, and surgeons in combat. MBI Publishing Company. pp. xi–xii. ISBN 9780760321195. http://books.google.com/books?id=uvR1CwPcyOIC.
- ^ a b c d "Medal of Honor recipients - World War I". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. June 8, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/worldwari.html. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ a b c English, George H., Jr. (1920). History of the 89th Division, U. S. A.. The War Society of the 89th Division. pp. 178. http://books.google.com/books?id=1scLAAAAYAAJ.
- ^ Greenwood, John T.; F. Clifton Berry (2005). Medics at war: military medicine from colonial times to the 21st century. Naval Institute Press. p. 79. ISBN 9781591143444. http://books.google.com/books?id=rU2_7i3NFTMC.
- ^ a b "Charles D. Barger, nephew by adoption...". Kansas City Times: pp. 18. February 26, 1920.
- ^ a b Hearings before the Committee on Invalid Pensions, House of Representatives, Seventy-Sixth Congress, Third Session, on H. R. 3385 and H. R. 8051. United States House of Representatives. February 1, 1940. pp. 18–20.
- ^ "One Would Be a Policeman". Kansas City Star: pp. 8. November 1, 1921.
- ^ a b "War Vet Wounded Resisting Arrest". Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, Missouri): p. 1. November 24, 1936.
- ^ "Charles D. Barger". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6403094. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
Categories:- 1892 births
- 1936 deaths
- Army Medal of Honor recipients
- United States Army soldiers
- People from Lawrence County, Missouri
- American military personnel of World War I
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
- Recipients of the Purple Heart medal
- Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
- Recipients of the Médaille Militaire
- People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
