Friday is Sergeant Milo Lemert Day in the city of Crossville.
Lemert was a World War I hero and resident of the city. During a battle in Bellicourt, France September 29, 1918, Lemert pulled his unit back together after all officers were killed in battle. Lemert organized an attack resulting in the neutralization of four machine gun nests manned by German soldiers. Crossville Military Museum’s Rick Whistler said three of the four machine gun nests were taken down by Lemert by himself.
“His troops were very loyal and admired his personality,” Whistler said. “There’s letters here that people had written about him. He must have been a special kind of person.”
Lemert was fatally wounded as a result of attacking the machine guns. Some eight days after the battle, his body was recovered by his fellow soldiers. Lemert was buried in Crossville in 1921.
As part of Milo Lemert Day, the public is invited to his gravesite in the Crossville City Cemetery Friday morning. At Noon, . Then at Noon meet at the Amphitheater, between the library and the Cumberland County Courthouse. Be sure to bring a lawn chai
“I’m told he was quite the natural leader of his troops and rather than said a private to go do the dirty work, he would do it himself,” Whistler said. “So he led by example.”
He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery. Whistlers said Lemert got married before he was deployed and died on his one-year anniversary.
“We had two for World War I in the area, We had Sergeant York, and we had Sergeant Lemert,” Whistler said.
Whistler said he thinks Lemert would have mixed emotions about Crossville naming a day after him.
“I’d imagine he was a pretty humble guy,” Whistler said. “He’d probably be embarrassed by it.”
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