b. 29/03/1896 Camden, South Carolina. d. 18/04/1943 Columbia, South Carolina.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 15/10/1918 Vaux Andigny, France.
John C Villepigue MOH
Villepigue was a descendant of Confederate States Army General John Bordenave Villepigue. Like his relative, Villepigue was born and raised in Camden, South Carolina. Kershaw County, South Carolina, in which Camden is located, has a rich military history and was home to several heroes from different wars.
Villepigue entered the Army in Camden, assigned to Company M, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. While fighting near Vaux-Andigny, France, on October 15, 1918, Villepigue and two other soldiers were ordered to scout through the village of Vaux-Andigny. During their movement through the village, they were ambushed by German machine gun fire. One of his fellow soldiers was killed and the other was wounded. Advancing forward on his own for more than 500 yards, with his platoon left far behind, Villepigue encountered four enemy soldiers manning the machine gun pit. He engaged them with a hand grenade and killed them. Crawling another 150 yards forward, he encountered a second machine gun pit which he rushed alone. He killed another four enemy soldiers, captured six and secured two machine guns. He was badly wounded in the arm during this action.
Villepigue was buried near John B. Villepigue in the “Old Quaker Cemetery”, in his hometown of Camden, South Carolina. This cemetery also maintains the grave of fellow World War I Medal of Honor recipient Richmond Hobson Hilton, the graves of Civil War Confederate Generals Joseph B. Kershaw and John Doby Kennedy, as well as Confederate soldier and hero from the Battle of Fredericksburg, Richard Rowland Kirkland. In 2004, Villepigue was honored by the South Carolina House of Representatives for his heroism during World War I.
MOH CITATION:
Having been sent out with two other soldiers to scout through the village of Vaux-Andigny, he met with strong resistance from enemy machine-gun fire, which killed one of his men and wounded the other. Continuing his advance without aid 500 yards in advance of his platoon and in the face of machine-gun and artillery fire, he encountered four of the enemy in a dugout, whom he attacked and killed with a hand grenade. Crawling forward to a point 150 yards in advance of his first encounter, he rushed a machine-gun nest, killing four and capturing six of the enemy and taking two light machine guns. After being joined by his platoon he was severely wounded in the arm.
BURIAL LOCATION: QUAKER CEMETERY, CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA.
SECTION 14.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: BELIEVED TO BE FAMILY.
