Born in the Netherlands, October 19, 1893, he earned the Medal of Honorin World War I while serving with Company M, 9th Infantry, 2nd Division, at Mouzon, France, on November 9, 1918.
He died on June 9, 1987 and was buried in Section 42 of Arlington National Cemetery.
VAN IERSEL, LUDOVICUS M. M.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company M, 9th Infantry, 2d Division. Place and date: At Mouzon, France, 9 November 1918. Entered service at: Glen Rock, New Jersey. Birth: Holland. G.O. No.: 34, W.D., 1919.
Citation:
While a member of the reconnaissance patrol, sent out at night to ascertain the condition of a damaged bridge, Sgt. Van Iersel volunteered to lead a
party across the bridge in the face of heavy machinegun and rifle fire from a range of only 75 yards. Crawling alone along the debris of the ruined bridge he came upon a trap, which gave away and precipitated him into the water. In spite of the swift current he succeeded in swimming across the stream and found a lodging place among the timbers on the opposite bank. Disregarding the enemy fire, he made a careful investigation of the hostile position by which the bridge was defended and then returned to the other bank of the river, reporting this valuable information to the battalion commander.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard