How Sergeant Samuel Woodfill's Faith Fueled His Verdun Charge

Oct 22 , 2025

How Sergeant Samuel Woodfill's Faith Fueled His Verdun Charge

The air cracked sharp with rifle fire and gas. Mud swallowed men whole. But Sergeant Samuel Woodfill moved forward—alone, relentless, unyielding. Half-blind in the eyes, bleeding from shrapnel wounds, he charged German trenches at Verdun, October 1918, carving a path through death. Not for glory. For the lives tethered behind him.

The Roots of a Warrior

Born April 22, 1883, in Indiana, Woodfill was a farm boy forged in dirt and hardship. He grew up with his hands in the soil and his faith in the Bible. Faith wasn’t just words—it was armor. A code wrapped in quiet strength.

He believed, as it’s written, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). This conviction bulldozed fear from his heart.

His grit wasn’t born of education or rank but grit alone. He enlisted in 1901, sharpened by nearly two decades of border skirmishes and training before the Great War. Woodfill’s battlefield was both physical and spiritual: duty, honor, and a cold, clear eye on the cost.

Hell at Verdun: The Crucible

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, late 1918. Americans faced the most brutal defenses Germany could muster. Mud thick as blood pooled in every shell crater. Woodfill led his men under furious artillery, gas attacks choking lungs, and German machine guns blazing.

One citation recounts how, despite severe wounds, he single-handedly captured seven machine guns, killed at least a dozen enemy soldiers, and turned the tide on his sector[^1]. The enemy’s lines crumbled because Woodfill’s charge shattered their nerve.

He didn’t just rally; he led from the front, throwing himself into the fray, taking impossible risks. Every inch gained cost lives. Every wounded man a prayer whispered over the roar.

His legendary courage was stamped by raw, personal sacrifice—bloodied, battered, but never broken.

Honors and Brothers-in-Arms

Woodfill earned the Medal of Honor for his fearless initiative and relentless assault under fire[^1]. President Wilson himself praised him, saying Woodfill "did more to win the war than any other soldier from America."

His fellow soldiers called him “The Sergeant York of World War I,” though Woodfill himself rejected the spotlight. What mattered was brotherhood, the men beside him, and the mission.

He received numerous other decorations: Distinguished Service Cross, Croix de Guerre, and Silver Star[^2]. But medals were secondary; his true accolade was survival and the men he led out of hell.

A Legacy Burned Into Time

Woodfill’s story is not just one of bombs and bullets. It’s a testament to unwavering faith under fire. To believing in a cause greater than pain, greater than death, even when shadowed by the war’s brutality.

His legacy whispers to every veteran—No wound is final. No sacrifice wasted. There is purpose even in the darkest night.

In a world desperate to forget the true cost of war, Woodfill’s scars—and salvation—stand defiantly as proof.

There is a cost to courage; there is blood in every victory. But as Woodfill lived and fought, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,” (2 Timothy 4:7) isn’t just scripture. It’s a battle cry for every soldier who stands raw and scarred—and still moves forward.

Sources

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History – Medal of Honor Citation: Samuel Woodfill [^2]: American Heroes of World War I, author James Donovan (University Press)