Phillip C. Katz

He returned through gunfire to carry a wounded man to safety

Phillip Carl Katz was born in San Francisco on 12 December 1889. He entered the Army during the First World War and served with Company C, 363rd Infantry Regiment, 91st Division. As a sergeant he took part in the American Expeditionary Forces' fighting in France in 1918.

On 26 September, near Eclisfontaine, his company withdrew approximately two hundred yards to maintain alignment with neighbouring units. Katz learned that a wounded soldier had been left behind in the exposed ground. He voluntarily went back, crossing an area swept by machine-gun fire to find the man. He lifted his comrade and carried him into safety.

The rescue brought the Medal of Honor. General John Pershing presented it in Europe before Katz returned to San Francisco in 1919. The city welcomed the returning regiment with a crowded parade, during which Katz wore the decoration. He left the Army after his wartime service and returned to civilian life.

Katz entered local politics and served on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. He was then elected public administrator, a position he held for many years before retiring in the early 1950s. He remained active in the Medal of Honor Society, enjoyed travel and continued swimming at the Olympic Club well into old age.

In a later interview he described receiving his French, Italian and Montenegrin decorations by mail after discharge and collecting his Victory Medal using his discharge papers. He preserved the medals together at home. Katz died in San Francisco on 29 October 1987 and was buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, aged ninety-seven.

Official Medal of Honor citation

After his company had withdrawn for a distance of 200 yards on a line with the units on its flanks, Sgt. Katz learned that one of his comrades had been left wounded in an exposed position at the point from which the withdrawal had taken place. Voluntarily crossing an area swept by heavy machine-gun fire, he advanced to where the wounded soldier lay and carried him to a place of safety.