{{Short description|US Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (1894–1989)}} {{Infobox military person |name= Thomas A. Pope |image= Thomas A Pope MOH.jpg |image_size= |alt= Head and shoulders of a clean cut man in military uniform with four medals hanging from ribbons on his chest and a garrison cap. |caption= Corporal Thomas Pope |nickname= |birth_date= {{Birth date|1894|12|15}} |birth_place= Chicago, Illinois, US |death_date= {{Death date and age|1989|6|14|1894|12|15}} |death_place= |burial_place= Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia |allegiance= United States |branch= United States Army |service_years= |service_number= 1387320 |rank= Corporal |unit= Company E, 131st Infantry, 33d Division |commands= |battles= {{tree list}} * World War I ** Battle of Hamel {{tree list/end}} |awards= Medal of Honor<br />Distinguished Conduct Medal (United Kingdom)<br />Médaille militaire (France)<br />Croix de Guerre (France) |relations= |other_work= }} '''Thomas A. Pope''' (December 15, 1894 – June 14, 1989) was a soldier in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Hamel, in France during World War I. Pope's unit was attached to an Australian Army battalion during the battle and, following a recommendation from an Australian officer, Pope was also awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, by King George V.
==Biography== Pope was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 15, 1894.{{sfn|Willbanks|2011|p=269}}
He joined the Illinois National Guard at Chicago, before the US entered World War I. During the war, Pope served in Company "E", 131st Infantry Regiment, 33rd Division. By the time of the Battle of Hamel, he held the rank of corporal.
After the war, he was a district foreman for the Cook County Highway Department. He also served as a contact officer for the Veterans Administration. He was married and had three daughters.<ref name="Chicago Tribune"/>
He died June 14, 1989. At the time he died, Pope was the only surviving US Army Medal of Honor recipient from World War I.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-21-mn-2431-story.html|title=Thomas A. Pope, 94; Last Surviving Army WWI Medal of Honor Winner|work=Los Angeles Times|date=21 June 1989 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/18/obituaries/thomas-a-pope-war-hero-94.html|title=Thomas A. Pope, War Hero, 94|work=The New York Times |date=18 June 1989}}</ref><ref name="Chicago Tribune">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/06/18/wwi-medal-of-honor-winner-thomas-pope/|title=Wwi Medal Of Honor Winner Thomas Pope|work=Chicago Tribune|date=18 June 1989 }}</ref> He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Pope's great-grandson, Sergeant Alexzander G. Teschner, went on to join the U.S. Army and served in the same unit as Pope, also receiving the Purple Heart while serving with the 82nd Airborne division.<ref>[https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgRwb3BlEgZ0aG9tYXMaAWE-/ Burial Detail: Pope, Thomas A (Section 35, Grave 3157)] – ANC Explorer</ref>
==Medal of Honor==
General of the Armies John J. Pershing awarded the Medal of Honor to Pope on 22 April 1919 in Ettlebruck, Luxembourg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/thomas-a-pope |title=World War I US Army THOMAS A POPE |work=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |access-date=2024-05-03}}</ref>
<blockquote> '''Citation:'''<br>His company was advancing behind the tanks when it was halted by hostile machinegun fire. Going forward alone, he rushed a machinegun nest, killed several of the crew with his bayonet, and, standing astride his gun, held off the others until reinforcements arrived and captured them.<ref name=AMOHW>{{Cite web |publisher = Army of Medal of Honor website |title = Pope, Thomas A. |date = 2009-08-03 |url = http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/worldwari.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214025033/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/worldwari.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = December 14, 2007 |accessdate = 2009-08-28}}</ref></blockquote> {{expand section|date=September 2020}}
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} * List of Medal of Honor recipients * List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * Sanborn, Joseph Brown, and George Nathaniel Malstrom. ''The 131st U.S. Infantry (First Infantry Illinois National Guard) in the World War; Narrative-Operations-Statistics''. Chicago: 1919. {{OCLC|554474}} *{{cite book|last=Willbanks|first=James H.|date=2011|title=America's Heroes: Medal of Honor Recipients from the Civil War to Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-FQ_ueG4AwC&pg=PA215|location=Santa Barbara, California|publisher=ABC-Clio|isbn=978-1-5988-4394-1}}
==External links== * {{Hall of Valor|2986}} * {{Cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tapope.htm |title=Thomas A. Pope|date=2 March 2024 |publisher=ArlingtonCemetery.net|id=an unofficial website}}<!-- This WP:SPS website offers little info. Do not use as a citation. -->
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Thomas A.}} Category:1894 births Category:1989 deaths Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Category:Military personnel from Chicago Category:American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Category:United States Army soldiers Category:World War I recipients of the Medal of Honor