Hermann was born on the 16th of October, 1877, in Hamburg, Germany, and when he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, he was living in Brooklyn, New York. His actions as a Private during the Spanish-American War earned him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Marblehead during the operation of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos, Cuba, 11 May 1898. Facing the heavy fire of the enemy, Kuchneister displayed extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action.

Hermann received his Medal of Honor on the 7th of July, 1899 and he was discharged from the Marine Corps as a Corporal in March of 1900. He was also one of three Marine Medal of Honor recipients (the only enlisted) to be a member of the Naval Order of the United States, which is an organization dedicated to keeping the history of the sea going services alive. Hermann worked as an assistant weigher for the US Customs Service in Boston, Massachusetts, until President Theodore Roosevelt issued an Executive Order (no. 992) which allowed Hermann to be promoted to Day Inspector without further examination.

His last name is spelled Kuchmeister on his gravestone even though his citation spells it Kuchneister and I have also found his middle name listed as Wilhelm and William, which is just an Americanized version of Wilhelm. For the sake of this story, we will refer to him as Hermann Wilhelm Kuchmeister, and he died due to injuries from the war on the 1st of February, 1923. He is buried with his wife, Florence, in the Winthrop Cemetery, Winthrop, Massachusetts: Old Section, Pilgrim Pad, Lot 578.