Clayton Kirk Slack

One rifle silenced a threat and saved his comrades in France

Clayton Kirk Slack earned the Medal of Honor near Consenvoye, France, on 8 October 1918. A private in Company D, 124th Machine Gun Battalion, 66th Infantry Brigade, 33rd Division, he acted on his own initiative when German soldiers threatened his unit's left flank.

Slack was born in Plover, Wisconsin, on 23 February 1896. His award was accredited to Madison, Wisconsin. He served with the United States Army in the First World War, and his recognized action came during the Meuse-Argonne fighting.

Seeing enemy troops about 50 yards away, Slack advanced with his rifle and captured ten prisoners and two heavy machine guns. The official citation credits this intervention with protecting his company and neighboring units from heavy casualties.

His Medal of Honor was authorized by War Department General Orders No. 16, dated 22 January 1919. General John J. Pershing presented the Medal of Honor at Chaumont, France, on 9 February 1919. Slack survived the war and died in Milwaukee on 1 March 1976. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His award commemorates a soldier whose quick decision removed a threat to the wider formation.

Medal of Honor citation

Observing German soldiers under cover 50 yards away on the left flank, Pvt. Slack, upon his own initiative, rushed them with his rifle and, singlehandedly, captured 10 prisoners and two heavy-type machine guns, thus saving his company and neighboring organizations from heavy casualties.