Oct 09 , 2025

Samuel Woodfill, Medal of Honor Recipient Who Charged Cunel

Samuel Woodfill stared down death like a man who’d already wrestled it in the dirt. Bullets shredded the air. Explosions bloomed like wrath unleashed all around him. Yet he pressed forward—guns blazing, voice hoarse, fury cold as war and faith burning hotter. Not once did he falter. Not once did he hesitate. That was Samuel Woodfill in the crucible of the Western Front.

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The Farm Boy Turned Warrior

Born in 1883 in Indiana, Woodfill’s hands knew the rough calluses of hard work before they ever gripped a weapon. Raised in modest means and tempered by Midwestern grit, faith ran deep in the veins of this soldier. His code wasn’t forged in classrooms or polished collars, but in Sunday sermons and chores under an unyielding sky. “I cannot change the past, but I can live honorably today,” he reportedly said.

His worldview was stitched together by scripture and the soldier’s creed—honesty, valor, and an unshakeable belief in protecting the innocent. Before the Great War, he had already seen combat sparks in the Philippines and the Russo-Japanese War, sharpening the edge of a man who would soon become legend.

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The Battle That Defined Him

October 12, 1918, near Cunel, France—a day soaked in mud and blood. The German lines loomed defiantly. Machine guns snarled like beasts, carving a deadly no-man’s land. Woodfill’s 60th Infantry Regiment was ordered to clear the enemy foxholes. Instead of waiting for artillery, Woodfill took it upon himself.

He advanced alone. Each step thundered with danger, every breath thick with smoke and death. He killed or captured multiple enemy soldiers, ripping holes in the fortified lines. Over several hours, Woodfill led small squads into the teeth of fire, seizing machine gun nests one by one. His courage wasn’t reckless—it was strategy born from raw understanding of survival.

Enemy troops began to believe this man was some force of nature. They called him the “Sergeant Major of the American Expeditionary Forces.” One citation recounts how Woodfill “fearlessly charged into heavily defended positions under intense fire, capturing trenches, killing enemy soldiers, and rallying his men.” He didn’t wait for backup. He became backup.

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Medals and Words Worth More Than Gold

For his gallantry at Cunel, Woodfill was awarded the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military decoration. His citation reads:

“His intrepid bravery and fearless devotion to duty enabled his company to capture a strongly fortified enemy position with all its occupants and equipment, under severe enemy fire.”[1]

Generals and fellow soldiers alike praised him. Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur, who knew Woodfill personally, called him the “greatest soldier” he’d ever met. Not simply because of Woodfill’s marksmanship or battlefield tactics—but because of the unshakable character beneath the combat helmet.

Woodfill also earned three Distinguished Service Crosses, a Silver Star, and the French Croix de Guerre, solidifying his place in history not by flashy heroics but by relentless action, sacrifice, and leadership.

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A Legacy Written in Blood and Faith

His fights went far beyond the trenches. Woodfill carried war’s torment quietly into old age. He spoke little of glory. For him, the battlefield bore scars far deeper than flesh wounds or medals. His story reminds all warriors and civilians alike that courage means standing alone when the night narrows. Redemption means rising even when broken.

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Woodfill’s sacrifice echoes this scripture into every generation.

His life demands more than admiration—it demands reckoning. War never spruces a man up for vanity. It strips him bare. It tests faith, purpose, grit. Yet Woodfill showed us the warrior’s true face: not the one stamped in medals, but the one who fights for something greater, who bears the cost without complaint, who chooses honor every damned time.

The footprints Samuel Woodfill left in the mud of Cunel speak to the toughest truth of all: Redemption isn’t given. It’s earned on the battlefield—in blood, in sacrifice, and in soul.

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Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: World War I [2] Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences (1949) [3] Edward G. Lengel, To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (2008) [4] Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archives

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