In World War I Bain was assigned to the 119th Infantry, part of the 30th Division. For his bravery in combat on October 9, 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in 1919.
BAIN, EDGAR H.
Captain, U.S. Army
119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division, A.E.F.
Date of Action: October 9, 1918
Citation:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Edgar Bain, Captain, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Busigny, France, October 9, 1918. Advancing under heavy fire with orders to pass through the front line company, Captain Bain found the troops he was to relieve 1,000 yards from their position, falling back. Rallying them, he personally led the troops in advance, under terrific fire, assaulting and capturing the assigned objective.
General Orders 81, W.D., 1919
Home Town: Goldsboro, NC
On that day the 119th assaulted the town of Saint-Souplet. Intense German machine gun fire initially repulsed the attack but the 119th persisted and took the town later in the day.
Bain returned to Goldsboro in May 1919. He sold insurance like his father and served as mayor from 1919-1925.
In World War II he was called back into service and assigned to the 321st Infantry, part of the 81st Division.
After the war he returned to the insurance business. Edgar Bain died August 4, 1956 and is buried in Willow Dale Cemetery beside his wife.
- Medals, Honors, & Units
You can determine quite a bit of a soldier’s military service from their uniform.
On the top row from left to right are:
- Distinguished Service Cross – The second highest award bestowed by the US Army for extreme bravery in combat.
- Silver Star – The third highest award for bravery in combat given by the US Armed Forces.
- Mexican Border Service medal – Given to those assigned to protection duties on the US-Mexico border in 1916-17 during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Bain was an officer with the 2nd NC National Guard Infantry and served in late 1916/early 1917 near El Paso, TX.
- World War I victory medal – Bain’s medal includes clasps for his service in the Somme and Ypres offensives during the war.
On the bottom row left to right:
- UDC Cross of Military Service – Awarded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to soldiers with a direct Confederate veteran ancestor.
- Officer Reserve Corps with 15 year service clasp.
- Marksmanship badge – Awarded for completion of a weapons qualification course, in this case for the pistol. There are three levels of the award- Marksman, Sharpshooter, & Expert (lowest to highest). Bain’s is a Sharpshooter award.
Above left to right: The “321” denotes the 321st Infantry while the crossed rifles represent the infantry. On the shoulder is the crest of the 321st Infantry showing a wildcat (81st Division logo) and a pine branch representing North Carolina.
Above is the left shoulder of Edgar Bain’s uniform. The shoulder patch is the 81st Division, the “Wildcats”. The silver eagle above denotes his rank, Colonel.
Previous WWI posts:
– Andrew Best
– Miles Faison Harris
– Charles Rom Hardesty
– Ezra Alphonso Mayo
– Grover Summerlin
– Camp Royster, Wayne County Fairground
– John Burt Exum
– Boys Battalion, 1905
– Remembering the Forgotten Dead of a Forgotten War
– North Carolina National Guard on the Border
– World War I & North Carolina: 30th Division, 119th Infantry
