Wilbur E. Colyer

Wilbur E. Colyer
Born	(1898-03-05)March 5, 1898 Brooklyn, New York
Died	October 10, 1918(1918-10-10) (aged 20)
Place of burial	Cypress Hills National Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917 - 1918
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	Company A, 1st Engineer Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Medal of Honor

Wilbur E. Colyer (March 5, 1898 – October 10, 1918) was an American soldier serving in the U.S. Army during World War I who received the Medal of Honor for bravery.

Biography

Colyer was born March 5, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York and after enlisting in the Army in 1917^[1] was sent to France to fight in World War I.^[2] He died October 10, 1918 and is buried in Cypress Hills National Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. His grave can be found in section 2, grave 8588.^[3]

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Engineers, 1st Division. Place and date: Near Verdun, France, 9 October 1918. Entered service at: South Ozone, Long Island, N.Y. Birth: Brooklyn, N.Y. G.O. No.: 20, W.D., 1919.

Citation:

Volunteering with 2 other soldiers to locate machinegun nests, Sgt. Colyer advanced on the hostile positions to a point where he was half surrounded by the nests, which were in ambush. He killed the gunner of one gun with a captured German grenade and then turned this gun on the other nests silencing all of them before he returned to his platoon. He was later killed in action.^[2]

Remembrance

On October 9, 2013, the 1st Engineer Battalion hosted a "mud run," modeled after the popular Tough Mudder, that included ruck marching, an obstacle course, and a crawl through a muddy pit. The course was named the "SGT Wilbur E. Colyer Diehard Challenge" in memory of SGT Colyer.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I

References