James I. Mestrovitch

James I. Mestrovitch (May 22, 1894 – November 4, 1918) was an American sergeant who received the Medal of Honor, United States highest military decoration, for his actions in World War I.

James I. Mestrovitch
Medal of Honor recipient
Nickname(s)Jack
Born(1894-05-22)May 22, 1894
Bay of Kotor (modern Montenegro)
DiedNovember 4, 1918(1918-11-04) (aged 24)
France
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1916 - 1918
RankSergeant
UnitCompany C, 111th Infantry, 28th Division
Battles/warsOise-Aisne Offensive
AwardsMedal of Honor

Mestrovitch, an ethnic Serb, was born as Joko Meštrović[1] in the area of Boka Kotorska, today's Montenegro, and after immigrating to the United States in 1911 he lived in Fresno, California.[2] He enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 18th Infantry in 1916 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[3] Following his enlistment Pvt Mestrovich was deployed along the Mexican Border in support of the 1916 Punitive expedition with the Pennsylvania National Guard where his skill and experience as a soldier saw him promoted to Corporal.[3] CPL Mestrovich was interviewed by newspaper reporters and attributed his patriotism and service as a debt repaid for the work of American Doctors treating the typhoid epidemic in his native Serbia in 1914.[4]

On April 13th, 1917, the 18th Pennsylvania Infantry was called to federal to guard vital wartime industry in western Pennsylvania. A short time later, the men found themselves shipped to Camp Hancock, Georgia. Here, the Pittsburgh Regiment joined with the men of the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry from Philadelphia and surrounding counties to form the new 111th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division.[5]

On August 10th, 1918 while his unit was engaged in the town of Fismette, France Sgt Mestrovich saw his company commander, Captain James Williams, fall wounded as the they moved through the ruins of the city. Without regard for his own safety, Mestrovich charged forward through a hail of machine-gun fire and falling artillery shells to rescue his Captain, returning to a concealed position to provide life-saving first aid. For this action, he would become the 28th Division’s first Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.[6] Mestrovich was wounded in the fighting where he performed his heroic deed and initially reported as killed in action. He wrote to his uncle back in Fresno to tell him of being shot by machine-gun fire and recuperating in the hospital, stating, "They operated twice on me, and in another month I think I will be just as good as I was and ready for the front again."[7]

US Troops in Fismette, September 1918

Mestrovich did recover and return to the 111th Infantry, but he would not survive the war to receive recognition for his heroic deeds in the streets of Fismette. As the fighting raged in the Meuse Argonne,  Sgt James Mestrovich fell in action on November 4th, 1918, with nearly 50 other men from the 111th, when their battalion encountered a concealed machine gun position during a reconnaissance patrol only days from the end of the war.[8][2]

Sergeant Mestrovich's Medal of Honor citation reads as follows:[9]

Seeing his company commander lying wounded 30 yards in front of the line after his company had withdrawn to a sheltered position behind a stone wall, Sgt. Mestrovitch voluntarily left cover and crawled through heavy machinegun and shell fire to where the officer lay. He took the officer upon his back and crawled to a place of safety, where he administered first-aid treatment, his exceptional heroism saving the officer's life.

Sgt James Mestrovich was returned home to his mother in 1925 in the town of Boka, now part of Montenegro.[10] He was buried in cemetery of Serbian Orthodox Church of St. John in his home village of Đuraševići near Tivat.[1][11] That same year the US mission to Split visited Mestrovich’s mother and presented her with his Congressional Medal of Honor in the presence of a full honor guard.[10]

References
  1. "Oni ne zaboravljaju: Predstavnici ambasade SAD obišli grob Joka Meštrovića" [They do not forget: envoys from the U.S. Embassy visited the grave of Joko Meštrović] (in Serbo-Croatian). Vijesti. November 11, 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  2. Jack Ivo Mestrovich, “Petition for Naturalization,” February 10, 1916.
  3. Heft, Aaron (December 2020). "Sergeant James I Mestrovich". On Point: 15–22.
  4. White, Carl (1916-09-24). "US Saved Typhus-Stricken Servia, so Patriotic Native Proves His Gratitude". El Paso Times.
  5. Pennsylvania in the World War, Vol. II. Pittsburgh, PA: State Publications Society. 1921. p. 493.
  6. Pennsylvania in the World War, Vol. II. Pittsburgh, PA: State Publications Society. 1921. p. 541.
  7. ""Mestrovich Wounded Leading Men in Battle"". Fresno Morning Republican. 1918-11-08.
  8. Pennsylvania in the World War, Vol. II. Pittsburgh, PA: State Publications Society. 1921. pp. 529, 541.
  9. "James I. Mestrovitch | World War I | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient". Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  10. "World War I, United States and Montenegro: How Montenegrin Citizens Helped U.S. Soldiers". U.S. Embassy in Montenegro. 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  11. "Joko Meštrović, junak Crnogoraca, Srba i SAD". Danas. March 31, 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-24.

See also
 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.


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