Morgan B. McDermott was born on 9 August 1893. During World War I, he served as First Lieutenant of United States Engineers in the 5th Infantry Division, 7th Regiment, American Expeditonary Forces. Lieutenant McDermott died in France on 29 October 1918 of wounds received in action.
Lieutenant McDermott was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (America’s second highest award for bravery in battle) for his services.
We are actively seeking additional information concerning Lieutenant McDermott.
MCDERMOTT, MORGAN B.
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
7th Engineers, 5th Division, A.E.F.
General Orders No. 37, W.D., 1919
Home Town: Tucson, AZ
Date of Action: October 20, 1918
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Morgan B. McDermott, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Cunel, France, October 20, 1918.
Accompanied by a soldier, First Lieutenant McDermott made a reconnaissance within the German lines and captured a machine-gun. Under heavy machine-gun fire he gave first-aid treatment to a wounded soldier and continued on his mission until he was himself severely wounded.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard