James Ernest Karnes

James Ernest Karnes
July 20, 1889(1889-07-20) – July 8, 1966 (aged 76)
Place of birth	Arlington, Tennessee
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	U.S. 117th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	World War I *Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Awards	Medal of Honor Silver Star

James Ernest "Buck" Karnes was a Sergeant in the United States Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions near Estrees, France on October 8, 1918 during World War I.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Medal of Honor citation 3 See also 4 References

Biography

James Ernest "Buck" Karnes (July 20, 1889–July 8, 1966), was born in Arlington, Tennessee and grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. Karnes entered active duty with the United States Army's 117th Regiment from the Tennessee National Guard during World War I. On October 8, 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Karnes' company was stopped near Estrées, France by a German machine gun position. Karnes and Private Calvin John Ward, deciding they had "had all they could take" of this situation, fixed bayonets, charged and captured the position. This freed their company to advance against German lines in the last major offensive of the war. Both men received the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in this action.

The Alcoa Highway (U.S. Route 129) bridge over the Tennessee River in Knoxville is named after Karnes.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 117th Infantry, 30th Division. Place and date: Near Estrees, France, October 8, 1918. Entered service at: Knoxville, Tenn. Born: 1889, Arlington, Tenn. G.O. No.: 50, W.D., 1919.

Citation:

During an advance, his company was held up by a machinegun, which was enfilading the line. Accompanied by another soldier, he advanced against this position and succeeded in reducing the nest by killing 3 and capturing 7 of the enemy and their guns.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War I

References

• "James Ernest Karnes". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7862436. Retrieved 2007-12-23. 
• "Regimental History & Lineage - 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment". http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/4872/Regt_History.html. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "East Tennessee Medal of Honor recipients". http://www.etvma.org/docs/TNMedal.pdf. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 

Persondata
NAME	Karnes, James Ernest
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH	July 20, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH	Arlington, Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH	July 8, 1966
PLACE OF DEATH