Alan Louis Eggers

Alan L. Eggers
Born	(1895-11-02)November 2, 1895 Saranac Lake, New York
Died	October 3, 1968(1968-10-03) (aged 72)
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Rank	sergeant
Unit	Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division
Awards	Medal of Honor

Alan Louis Eggers (November 2, 1895 – October 3, 1968) was a sergeant in the United States Army during World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in combat near Le Catelet, France, on September 29, 1918, together with John C. Latham and Thomas E. O'Shea. Eggers was a student at Cornell University before departing for service. He was awarded the degree of "War Alumnus" in 1921.

Medal of Honor citation

Headstone of Alan Eggers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery portrait of Sgt. Alan Eggers

• Rank and organization: Sergeant, United States Army, Machine Gun Company, 107th Infantry, 27th Division.
• Place and date: Near Le Catelet, France, September 29, 1918.
• Entered service at: Summit, New Jersey.
• Birth: Saranac Lake, New York.
• General Orders No.20. War Department, 1919.

Citation:

Becoming separated from their platoon by a smoke barrage, Sgt. Eggers, Sgt. John C. Latham and Cpl. Thomas E. O'Shea took cover in a shell hole well within the enemy's lines. Upon hearing a call for help from an American tank, which had become disabled 30 yards from them, the 3 soldiers left their shelter and started toward the tank, under heavy fire from German machine-guns and trench mortars. In crossing the fire-swept area Cpl. O'Shea was mortally wounded, but his companions, undeterred, proceeded to the tank, rescued a wounded officer, and assisted 2 wounded soldiers to cover in a sap of a nearby trench. Sgt. Eggers and Sgt. Latham then returned to the tank in the face of the violent fire, dismounted a Hotchkiss gun, and took it back to where the wounded men were, keeping off the enemy all day by effective use of the gun and later bringing it, with the wounded men, back to our lines under cover of darkness.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
• Thomas E. O'Shea
• John Cridland Latham
• Hopper, James Marie, "Medals of Honor", with illustrations by John Alan Maxwell. New York, The John Day company [© Oct. 10,1929]

References

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

External links

• "Alan Louis Eggers". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-10-18.