Seth L. Weld

With a shattered rifle, he fought to rescue two wounded men.

Seth Lathrop Weld was born at Sandy Hook, Maryland, on 19 February 1879. As a corporal in Company L, 8th United States Infantry, he served in the Philippines during the prolonged fighting that followed the Spanish-American War.

At La Paz on Leyte on 5 December 1906, Weld found a wounded constabulary officer and another soldier surrounded by roughly forty Pulajanes. Although his own right arm had been slashed open by a bolo, he went to their aid. His rifle could no longer function normally, so he used it as a club to drive back their attackers and rescue the party.

The Medal of Honor was issued in 1908. Weld remained a career soldier and eventually attained colonel; his government burial record also identifies First World War service and a Purple Heart. He lived in retirement until his death at San Antonio, Texas, on 20 December 1958. He was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.