b. 06/11/1894 Spartanburg, South Carolina. d. 22/07/1951 Spartanburg, South Carolina.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 08/10/1918 near Montbrehain, France.
Gary E Foster MOH
World War I Medal of Honor Recipient. He was issued the award on January 22, 1919 for his actions as a sergeant with Company F, 118th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, US Army, on October 8, 1918, near Montbrehain, France. He joined the South Carolina National Guard and when the US entered World War I in April, 1917, he was activated and sent to the Western Front in France. After the war, he returned home and attended Clemson College (now Clemson University) at Clemson, South Carolina. He died at the age of 56. His Medal of Honor citation reads: “When his company was held up by violent machine-gun fire from a sunken road, Sgt. Foster with an officer went forward to attack the hostile machine-gun nests. The officer was wounded, but Sgt. Foster continued on alone in the face of the heavy fire and by effective use of hand grenades and his pistol killed several of the enemy and captured 18.” His Medal of Honor resides at the Spartanburg County Historical Association in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
MOH CITATION:
When his company was held up by violent machinegun fire from a sunken road, Sgt. Foster with an officer went forward to attack the hostile machinegun nests. The officer was wounded, but Sgt. Foster continued on alone in the face of the heavy fire and by effective use of handgrenades and his pistol killed several of the enemy and captured 18.
BURIAL LOCATION: NEW PROSPECT BAPTIST CEMETERY, CHESNEE, SOUTH CAROLINA.
SECTION 1, ROW 15
LOCATION OF MEDAL: SPARTANBURG COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA.
