Richmond H. Hilton

Infobox Military Person
name= Richmond Hobson Hilton
born= Birth date|1898|10|8
died= death year and age|1933|1898
placeofbirth= Westville, South Carolina
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=
rank=
commands=
unit=
battles= World War I
awards= Medal of Honor Distinguished Conduct Medal Medaille Militaire Croix de Guerre with Palm Croce di Guerre War Cross Bravery Medal
laterwork=

Richmond Hobson Hilton (October 8, 1898-1933) was a U.S. Army Sergeant during World War I, and a Medal of Honor recipient, the first of two from Kershaw County, South Carolina to be awarded the medal during that war. He was also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal by Great Britain, the Medaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre with Palm by France, the Croce di Guerre by Italy, the War Cross by Portugal, and the Bravery Medal by Montenegro. All were awarded for bravery in the face of the enemy.

Biography

Hilton was born in Westville, South Carolina, and joined the army in Westville, assigned to Company M, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. On October 11, 1918, while fighting near Brancourt, France, Hilton's unit was held up by intense machine gun and small arms fire. Sgt. Hilton recognized that the machine gun fire was coming from a shell crater just ahead of them. Accompanied by several other soldiers, but moving out well ahead of them, Sgt. Hilton engaged the machine gun, using his rifle until his ammunition ran out, then using his pistol, killing six German soldiers, and capturing ten others. In the course of this action he was wounded by an exploding shell, which resulted in the loss of an arm.

After his discharge from the army, he returned home to Kershaw County a hero. After his death in 1933, he was buried in "Old Quaker Cemetery" in Camden, South Carolina, which is also the cemetery in which World War I Medal of Honor recipient John Canty Villepigue is buried. He and Villepigue were both assigned to Company M, 118th Infantry, 30th Division, with Villepigue being awarded his Medal of Honor for actions taking place a few days later, on October 15, 1918, which resulted in injuries from which he would later die. That cemetery also maintains the graves of Civil War Confederate Army Generals John Doby Kennedy and Joseph B. Kershaw, as well as Civil War hero Richard Rowland Kirkland.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company M, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and date: At Brancourt, France, 11 October 1918. Entered service at: Westville, S.C. Born: 8 October 1898, Westville, S.C. G.O. No.: 16, W.D., 1919.

Citation:

:While Sgt. Hilton's company was advancing through the village of Brancourt it was held up by intense enfilading fire from a machinegun. Discovering that this fire came from a machinegun nest among shell holes at the edge of the town, Sgt. Hilton, accompanied by a few other soldiers, but well in advance of them, pressed on toward this position, firing with his rifle until his ammunition was exhausted, and then with his pistol, killing 6 of the enemy and capturing 10. In the course of this daring exploit he received a wound from a bursting shell, which resulted in the loss of his arm.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I

References

*findagrave|11292 Retrieved on 2008-01-26
* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bhughes/HiltonRichmond.html Richmond Hilton Medal of Honor citation]
* [http://sciway3.net/proctor/state/ww1/sc_ww1_moh.html South Carolina MoH recipients]

Persondata
NAME= Hilton, Richmond H.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH= October 8, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH= Westville, South Carolina
DATE OF DEATH= 1933
PLACE OF DEATH=