Josephus S. Cecil

Carrying men out of close fire, he led a rescue at Bud Dajo.

Josephus Samuel Cecil, also recorded as Joseph Samuel Cecil, was born at New River, Tennessee, on 11 January 1878. He entered military service in July 1898 with Company H, 4th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry. Beginning as a private, he rose through corporal to sergeant before receiving a regular-army commission in the 19th Infantry in May 1899.

His early service coincided with the Spanish–American War and the subsequent American occupation of Cuba. He later went to the Philippines, where the army continued operations against armed opposition after the main Philippine conflict had ended.

On 7 March 1906, during the assault on the fortified position at Bud Dajo on Jolo, Cecil was a first lieutenant at the head of an attacking column. Under heavy fire at short range, he carried a wounded soldier and the body of a man killed beside him into shelter. The rescue brought him the Medal of Honor, presented on 23 January 1913.

He remained a professional officer and advanced to colonel. During the First World War he held senior rank in the expanding National Army in the United States. His career extended beyond the armistice, and he retired in July 1922 after approximately twenty-four years of service.

Cecil died at Hartford, Connecticut, on 20 August 1940. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery under the name Joseph Samuel Cecil. His record therefore preserves both the name used in his military award and the name inscribed on his grave.

Official Medal of Honor citation While at the head of the column about to assault the first cotta under a superior fire at short-range, personally carried to a sheltered position a wounded man and the body of one who was killed beside him.