Bruno Wende

He rescued wounded comrades under deadly enemy fire in Cuba.

Bruno Wende was a United States Army soldier whose Medal of Honor recognized his actions at El Caney, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War. Born in Germany on April 17, 1859, he immigrated to the United States and entered the Army from Canton, Ohio.

On July 1, 1898, Wende was a private in Company C, Seventeenth U.S. Infantry. Wounded soldiers lay exposed in front of the American lines. He helped bring them to safety while the enemy continued firing. The regimental account places him among the men who went forward to rescue Lieutenant Colonel William Haskell after the officer was wounded. Other members of the rescue party were themselves hit during the attempt.

Wende received the Medal of Honor on June 22, 1899. His citation emphasizes the danger of rescuing wounded men under heavy fire, the act on which his recognition rests.

He continued serving with the Seventeenth Infantry after the war. A contemporary January 1903 report names Corporal Bruno Wende among soldiers transferred to Company L at Fort Lawton, Washington. Later veteran records list his service through 1908 and his highest rank as sergeant major.

Wende died on December 27, 1929, and was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Medal of Honor citation

Gallantly assisted in the rescue of the wounded from in front of the lines and under heavy fire from the enemy.