b. 26/09/1871 Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland. d. 01/02/1928 Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 01/10/1918 near Apremont, France.
Joseph H Thompson MOH
Thompson came to the United States from Ireland in 1898 at the age of 18 and entered Geneva College that year. He immediately became a basketball star and also participated in gymnastics and wrestling, but did not go out for football until 1900. He served as Geneva’s player-coach for three years, with his football teams compiling a 27–2–3 record.
Following graduation from Pitt’s law school, Thompson assumed the head coaching position at Pitt from 1909 to 1912, during which period he led Pitt to a 22–11–2 record. The highlight of his coaching tenure was the 1910 season in which Pitt went undefeated and unscored upon and was considered by many to be that season’s national champion. While compiling its 9–0 record, Pitt outscored its opponents 282–0. During this time, he attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, graduating in 1909, and was admitted to the bar.
Thompson enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard’s Company H, 14th Infantry Regiment on 16 February 1905. He was promoted to second lieutenant on 1 November 1906; to captain in Company B, 10th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard on 16 December 1909; to major on 29 June 1912; to lieutenant colonel on 28 October 1918; and finally to colonel on 15 March 1919. While serving in WWI he was wounded four times: on 29 September 1918; 30 September 1918; 1 October 1918; and again on 1 October 1918, when he was gassed. He remained on duty after each instance. As of 12 April 1919, he was commanding the 110th Infantry Regiment. Thompson initially returned to the United States on 11 May 1919. He returned to France in June 1919, in order to redeploy the 110th Infantry Regiment to the United States. He was discharged from active duty in December 1919.
While serving in France with the 110th Infantry, then Major Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor on 1 October 1918, during which action he was wounded for the fourth time. This decoration was subsequently upgraded to the Medal of Honor on 5 October 1925. His four wounds entitled him to wear four wound chevrons (the precursor to the Purple Heart which was reestablished by the President of the United States per War Department General Orders 3, 1932) on his uniform’s lower right sleeve.
MOH CITATION:
Counterattacked by two regiments of the enemy, Maj. Thompson encouraged his battalion in the front line by constantly braving the hazardous fire of machine guns and artillery. His courage was mainly responsible for the heavy repulse of the enemy. Later in the action, when the advance of his assaulting companies was held up by fire from a hostile machine-gun nest and all but one of the six assaulting tanks were disabled, Maj. Thompson, with great gallantry and coolness, rushed forward on foot three separate times in advance of the assaulting line, under heavy machine-gun and antitank-gun fire, and led the one remaining tank to within a few yards of the enemy machine-gun nest, which it succeeded in reducing, thereby making it possible for the infantry to advance.
BURIAL LOCATION: BEAVER FALLS AND MEMORIAL PARK, BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.
SECTION A, LOT 55.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
