Crossville’s Military Memorial Museum will display a Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. Milo Lemert in World War I.
Museum President Mark Pfaffenroth said this weekend marks the first time the medal has returned to Crossville in more than 100 years. The National Guard sent Lemert to Bellicourt, France, in 1918, shortly after marrying Crossville native Nellie Snodgrass.
“His Medal of Honor citation said that he basically single handedly attacked three German machine gun emplacements, and knocked them out firing at them and throwing grenades,” Pfaffenroth said. “And as he moved down the line, he and another soldier attacked a fourth emplacement and he was killed there.”
Pfaffenroth said Lemert’s actions that day were believed to save lots of American lives. The medal would be accepted by Snodgrass in Crossville in 1919, and it was later donated to the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.
Pfaffenroth said the medal will be displayed at the Military Memorial Museum in Crossville on Friday from 1pm to 6pm, Saturday from 9am to 3pm.
Pfaffenroth said these dates line up with Milo Lemert Day, which Crossville celebrates every year on September 29th.
Pfaffenroth said the conditions faced in Bellencourt were typical of World War I. The battles were fought by way of trench warfare. American soldiers would have to enter no man’s land to take out the German machine guns.
“They were pinning down the American soldiers,” Pfaffenroth said. “They were taking casualties. And so Sgt. Lemert went up through the area, went up to the first emplacement, threw hand grenades in there, knocked it out. And he continued on down the line.”
Though it resulted in Lemert’s death, Pfaffenroth said Lemert was successful in taking down the fourth machine gun. Pfaffenroth said his Medal of Honor was awarded based on reports from after the battle.
“Usually, somebody in the unit, a commanding officer or somebody like that, will write a report saying, ‘Milo Lemert did this and we think it’s worthy of a medal,’” Pfaffenroth said. “Whether it would be something like a bronze star, silver star, or in fact the Medal of Honor, which this one was. It pretty much goes up through a chain of command.”
Pfaffenroth said a review board has the final say in who receives the award. Pfaffenroth said the medal’s return to Crossville is special because it has not been back in so long. Additionally, it is a part of Crossville and Tennessee history.
When the medal leaves Crossville, it will return to its home in Nashville to be a part of a larger display. Lemert’s Medal of Honor has rarely left Nashville, and has only been loaned out a handful of times.