Appalachian Figures
Kentucky’s only World War I Medal of Honor recipient
Eastern Kentucky sent many sons to the Great War. Only one came home wearing the nation’s highest decoration for valor. Sergeant Willie Sandlin of Leslie County earned the Medal of Honor for a lone assault on German machine guns at Bois-de-Forges on 26 September 1918. His story is rooted in Appalachia and documented in official records and photographs that survive in national and Kentucky archives.
A mountain soldier
Willie Sandlin was born in Breathitt County on 1 January 1890 and entered the Army from Hyden, Leslie County. In France he served with Company A, 132d Infantry, 33d Division. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s official recipient file confirms his unit, birth and service details, and that his award was presented at Chaumont, France on 9 February 1919 by General John J. Pershing.
Bois-de-Forges, 26 September 1918
The War Department published Sandlin’s Medal of Honor citation in its World War I compilation and in General Orders No. 16, 1919. The United States Army reproduces that citation today. It records that Sandlin advanced alone against a machine gun position that was stopping his company, killed the crew with a grenade, and later in the day disabled two additional machine gun nests, setting “a splendid example of bravery and coolness” to his men.
The original government book of citations from the period 1917 to 1919 also includes Sandlin’s entry and the General Orders reference, providing a contemporary printed source for his award.
“A splendid example” in the historical record
Sandlin’s recognition quickly placed him among the most noted American enlisted men of the war. A Library of Congress Harris and Ewing news photograph from 5 September 1924 shows Sgt. Sandlin standing with two generals and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Samuel Woodfill in Washington. The catalog record identifies all four men and preserves the date.
Another set of period portraits survives closer to home. The University of Louisville’s Herald-Post Collection holds multiple original 1921 photographic prints titled “Willie Sandlin of Hyden, Kentucky,” stamped September 29, 1921. These items anchor his public profile in Kentucky only a few years after the war.
Coming home to Leslie County
After service overseas, Sandlin returned to the mountains. He died on 29 May 1949. Today, both the Army’s recipient file and Kentucky records note his burial at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery South East in Hyden, with remains moved from Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. The Department of Veterans Affairs documented his 2018 reinterment at the new state veterans cemetery in Hyden, a century after his action in France.
Kentucky’s memory of Sandlin
The Commonwealth has marked Sandlin’s legacy in several ways. A Kentucky Historical Society roadside marker on the Hyden courthouse lawn records that he was the only Kentuckian to receive the Medal of Honor during World War I and summarizes his feat at Bois-de-Forges.
In 2016 the General Assembly designated a new KY 30 crossing of the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River as the Sergeant Willie Sandlin Memorial Bridge. The text of House Joint Resolution 79 sets out that commemoration, and local media covered the public dedication that summer.
Kentucky’s Department of Veterans Affairs also lists him under “Notable Persons” at the Hyden state veterans cemetery, keeping his name in front of new generations of families who visit.
Why Sandlin’s story matters in Appalachia
Sandlin’s Medal of Honor action took place far from the hills of Leslie County, yet his life before and after the war is an Appalachian story. He was accredited to Hyden, he returned to the mountains after the armistice, and he now rests in a veterans cemetery on Tim Couch Pass, where Eastern Kentucky communities gather each Memorial Day. The archival photograph in Washington places him in the national pantheon, while the 1921 Louisville prints and the Hyden marker place him back home. Those threads tie the Meuse-Argonne to the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River.
Sources and further reading
War Department Medal of Honor citation. “SANDLIN, WILLIE,” World War I Medal of Honor recipients; General Orders No. 16, 1919, United States Army official citations page. U.S. Army
War Department printed compilation. Congressional Medal of Honor: The Military and Naval Record… 1917–1919 (Government Printing Office, 1920), contemporary citation volume. UNT Digital Library
Library of Congress photo record. “Sgt. Willie Sandlin, Gen. F. T. Hines, Gen. L. M. Brett, Sgt. Sam Woodfill, 9/5/24” Harris and Ewing Collection, Prints and Photographs Division. The Library of Congress
University of Louisville Photographic Archives. “Willie Sandlin of Hyden, Kentucky, 1921” (Herald-Post Collection), dated original prints. Digital Library of Louisville+1
Kentucky Historical Society. Official historical marker entry, “Willie Sandlin,” Marker No. 631. Kentucky History
Commonwealth of Kentucky. 2016 House Joint Resolution 79 designating the “Sergeant Willie Sandlin Memorial Bridge,” full bill text. Legislative Research Commission
Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs. Kentucky Veterans Cemetery South East page noting Sandlin under “Notable Persons.” veterans.ky.gov
Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Recipient profile for Sergeant Willie Sandlin, including presentation details and burial notes. Congressional Medal of Honor Society
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA News. “WWI Medal of Honor recipient re-interred at new state veterans cemetery in Hyden, Kentucky,” 2018. VA News
Pritzker Military Museum & Library. Exhibit page on Sgt. Willie Sandlin. Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Military Times, Hall of Valor. Recipient dossier for Willie Sandlin. Hall of Valor
Kentucky Historical Society, ExploreKYHistory. Curated entry “Sgt. Willie Sandlin — A Splendid Example of Bravery and Coolness.” Explore Kentucky History
WYMT. Coverage of the 2016 bridge dedication in Breathitt County. https://www.wymt.com
Kentucky Living. “Honoring Kentucky’s only WWI Medal of Honor recipient,” statewide magazine feature. Kentucky Living