Army Sergeant James I. Mestrovitch - World War I

USCIS Headquarters History Office and Library, Washington, DC

After emigrating to the United States in 1913 from Montenegro, James Mestrovitch answered his adopted country's call and enlisted in the U.S. Army from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He soon found himself back in Europe with the Army National Guard’s Company C, 111th Infantry, 28th Division, fighting in Fismette, France on Aug. 10, 1918. Citation: Seeing his company commander lying wounded 30 yards in front of the line after his company had withdrawn to a sheltered position behind a stone wall, Sergeant Mestrovitch voluntarily left cover and crawled through heavy machine gun and shell fire to where the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.

After surviving numerous combat actions, Mestrovich fell victim to the influenza epidemic. Upon his death, his body was repatriated to Montenegro, where he was buried in Sveti Jovan Church Cemetery.

This text is from the official citations, military historical records, obituaries and other text posted on the Internet, including HomeOfHeroes.com, and the Military Times Hall of Valor.