John L. Barkley

"John Barkley" redirects here. For the American baseball player, see Red Barkley.

John Lewis Barkley
Born	(1895-08-28)August 28, 1895 Kansas City, Missouri
Died
Place of burial	Forest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917 - 1919
Rank	Private First Class
Unit	Company K, 4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Medal of Honor Distinghuished Service Cross

John Lewis Barkley (August 28, 1895 - April 14, 1966) was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient of World War I. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Barkley served as a Private First Class in Company K, 4th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Division. He earned the medal while fighting near Cunel, France, on October 7, 1918. He died in 1966, and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.

Citation:

Pfc. Barkley, who was stationed in an observation post half a kilometer from the German line, on his own initiative repaired a captured enemy machinegun and mounted it in a disabled French tank near his post. Shortly afterward, when the enemy launched a counterattack against our forces, Pfc. Barkley got into the tank, waited under hostile barrage until the enemy line was abreast of him and then opened fire, completely breaking up the counterattack and killing and wounding a large number of the enemy. Five minutes later an enemy 77-millimeter gun opened fire on the tank point blank. One shell struck the drive wheel of the tank, but this soldier nevertheless remained in the tank and after the barrage ceased broke up a second enemy counterattack, thereby enabling our forces to gain and hold Hill 25.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.