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 1876 - 1918 (41 years)
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| Name |
PIKE Emory Jenison |
| Prefix |
LTC |
| Birth |
18 Dec 1876 |
Columbus City, Louisa, Iowa, United States  [3, 4] |
- (1900 census says Dec 1877.)
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| Gender |
Male |
| Census |
19 Jun 1880 |
Wayland, Henry, Iowa, United States [5] |
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| Census |
11 Jun 1900 |
Troy, Iowa, Iowa, United States [3] |
- (age 22; soldier; enumerated in his parent's household.)
|
| Census |
28 May 1910 |
Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States [6] |
- (age 32; First Lieutenant; married 9 years.)
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| _UID |
99F400CCEBDD1D48843C9B025A2392F9EBC3 |
| Death |
16 Sep 1918 |
France [4] |
- (killed in action near Vandieres, France during World War I.)
|
| Burial |
Aft 16 Sep 1918 |
Des Moines, Polk, Iowa, United States [4] |
Address:
Woodland Cemetery |
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Woodland Cemetery map
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LTC Emory J. Pike gravestone
Medal of Honor |
| Notes |
- He was born in Columbus City, the fifth of ten children. His father was a Methodist minister. His great uncle was explorer Zebulon Pike, the discoverer of Pike's Peak in Colorado. The family later moved several counties west to Sigourney, Iowa, where Pike graduated high school in 1894. Pike matriculated at West Point in 1897, and graduated a year early like all cadets at the time due to the Spanish-American War. No scholar, he ranked 73rd in his class of 74, and earned the dubious distinction of compiling the second highest number of demerits in his class of 1901 for such infractions as playing poker, throwing bread, asking irrelevant questions, and grinning while being disciplined. At age 24 he married Ethel Trigg who was fifteen. They had five children.
He served with the 2nd United States Cavalry in Cuba and the United States. In 1914, he was a Distinguished Service Graduate from the Army's School of the Line, and in 1915 completed the Army Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Promoted from Captain to Major, he was assigned as an instructor at the School of the Line at Fort Leavenworth. In April 1918 Pike went to Europe with his Division, and was killed in action.
Official Medal of Honor Citation Citation:
Having gone forward to reconnoiter new machinegun positions, Lt. Col. Pike offered his assistance in reorganizing advance infantry units which had become disorganized during a heavy artillery shelling. He succeeded in locating only about 20 men, but with these he advanced and when later joined by several infantry platoons rendered inestimable service in establishing outposts, encouraging all by his cheeriness, in spite of the extreme danger of the situation. When a shell had wounded one of the men in the outpost, Lt. Col. Pike immediately went to his aid and was severely wounded himself when another shell burst in the same place. While waiting to be brought to the rear, Lt. Col. Pike continued in command, still retaining his jovial manner of encouragement, directing the reorganization until the position could be held. The entire operation was carried on under terrific bombardment, and the example of courage and devotion to duty, as set by Lt. Col. Pike, established the highest standard of morale and confidence to all under his charge. The wounds he received were the cause of his death.
Pike demonstrated uncommon leadership skills as he kept a calm demeanor, prevented panic among his soldiers under him, and probably saved many lives as deadly German shells exploded around his troops.
Pike's actions were part of the St. Mihiel offensive near the French town of Vandieres, America?s first independent action. The goal was to take back a salient, or bulge, that the Germans had created in the trench lines. The Germans held a heavily fortified ridge. As the kind of officer who led his men from the front rather than the rear, Pike inspected and located machine gun emplacements in an area of potentially exposed flank of a sister division. While working with his machine gun units, an enemy artillery strike disoriented the American troops. Pike reorganized the whole area. By the time he received his mortal wound, he had organized the American lines in his area that held the line's integrity. After lying bleeding for an hour and a half, he was evacuated saying "They haven't killed me yet." His final words before dying the next morning were: "Well, my family will not be ashamed of me." He reportedly smiled as he died.
The Medal of Honor award presentation was made to his daughter Martha Pike at Camp Dodge by General S.M. Foote after the war.
Major General J.M. Wainwright, Assistant Chief of Staff, 82nd Division, wrote to Colonel Pike's mother informing her of his death. In his letter, Wainwright wrote: "He has been recommended for the Medal of Honor...When my time comes I only hope I can die as gallantly as did your son..." (Wainwright was a Medal of Honor recipient in WW II.)
Poem excerpt written for and read at Pike?s funeral by Capt. George H. Wilson:
For 'round his lips the same smile hovered still.
Wrapped in the flag he loved, and on his bier
The flower of widowed France he fought to save,
He sleeps; and though the tide of war sweeps on,
It has an added surge because of him.
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| Person ID |
I63801 |
Noyes Family Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
8 Jul 2013 |
| Father |
Rev. PIKE Elias Jennison, b. 28 Feb 1846, Lawrenceburg, Dearborn, Indiana, United States d. 3 Nov 1904, Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa, United States (Age 58 years) |
| Mother |
RICKETTS Catherine Matilda, b. 5 Mar 1848, Van Buren, Iowa, United States d. 6 Aug 1929, Columbus, Columbiana, Ohio, United States (Age 81 years) |
| Marriage |
6 Jul 1870 |
Douds Station, Van Buren, Iowa, United States [7] |
| Family ID |
F25092 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
TRIGG Ethel Fowler, b. 8 Jun 1885, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States d. 1969 (Age 83 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 1900 [1, 6] |
| Children |
| | 1. PIKE Martha Agnes, b. 22 Feb 1902, Fort Myer, Arlington, Virginia, United States d. 8 Jan 1994 (Age 91 years) |
| | 2. PIKE Richard d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 3. PIKE Miriam Joan, b. 10 Oct 1904, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines d. 1978, Boulder City, Clark, Nevada, United States (Age 73 years) |
| | 4. PIKE Julia d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 5. PIKE Emory J., b. Abt 1908, Vermont d. 1978 (Age ~ 70 years) |
| | 6. PIKE Zebulon Montgomery, b. 1913 d. 1977 (Age 64 years) |
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| Family ID |
F25107 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
23 Feb 2024 |
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| Event Map |
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 | Census - 28 May 1910 - Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth, Kansas, United States |
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 | Death - 16 Sep 1918 - France |
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