Herman Pfisterer

Rescuing men beyond the lines, he crossed ground under fire.

Herman Pfisterer was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 1 April 1866. He entered the United States Army and was serving as a musician with Company H, 21st Infantry, when American forces fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

On 1 July 1898, during the fighting at Santiago, wounded men lay outside the American line. Pfisterer went out to assist them despite heavy enemy fire. His duties as a musician did not keep him from entering the exposed area where the casualties had fallen. By moving beyond the protection of his own position he accepted the same danger that had already struck the men he was trying to recover.

His Medal of Honor recognised his gallantry in rescuing wounded soldiers from that exposed ground. The award was issued on 22 June 1899. It recorded an act of battlefield assistance during the campaign that brought the United States Army to Santiago and helped end Spanish control of Cuba.

Pfisterer remained associated with military service after the Cuban campaign. Records connected with Vancouver Barracks identify him as a bugler with Company D, 14th Infantry. His later life ended at Vancouver, Washington, on 6 August 1905, when he was 39 years old. He was buried two days later in the military cemetery at Vancouver Barracks, where his grave is maintained as that of a Medal of Honor recipient. His Spanish Campaign Medal represents the Cuban service during which he earned the nation's highest military decoration.

Official 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.