b. 15/06/1877 Ogden, Kansas. d. 02/08/1934 St Cloud, Minnesota.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 26/09/1918 Bois-de-Forges, France.
George H Mallon MOH
World War I Medal of Honor Recipient. He joined the US Army as a private in June 1898 and saw action in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, and was discharged in January 1902. Following the US entry into World War I in April, 1917, he rejoined the US Army and was commissioned as a captain and sent to France, where he saw action on the Western Front, at Hamel, and the Somme and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. It was during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late September 1918 where his courage and gallantry would win him the Medal of Honor. His other military honors and recognitions include the Purple Heat, the Philippine Campaign Medal, the World War I Victory Medal, the Army Occupation of Germany Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and the French Croix de Guerre (with palm).
He received the award from US Army General John J. Pershing at Chaumont, France on February 9, 1919. Following his discharge in June 1919, he returned to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he worked for the Building Trade Council and ran as a Republican for lieutenant governor in 1920 but lost during the primary. He died following a stroke at the age of 57.
MOH CITATION:
Becoming separated from the balance of his company because of fog, Capt. Mallon, with nine soldiers, pushed forward and attacked nine active and hostile machine guns, capturing all of them without the loss of a man. Continuing on through the woods, he led his men in attacking a battery of four 155-millimeter howitzers, which were in action, rushing the position and capturing the battery and its crews. In this encounter Capt. Mallon personally attacked one of the enemy with his fists. Later, when the party came upon two more machine guns, this officer sent men to the flanks while he rushed forward directly in the face of the fire and silenced the guns, being the first one of the party to reach the nest. The exceptional gallantry and determination displayed by Capt. Mallon resulted in the capture of 100 prisoners, 11 machine guns, four 155-millimeter howitzers, and one antiaircraft gun.
BURIAL LOCATION: FORT SNELLING NATIONAL CEMETERY, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.
SECTION DS, GRAVE 1, LOT S.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: US CAVALRY MUSEUM, FORT RILEY, KANSAS.
