Sidney E Manning
Sidney was born in Butler County, Alabama, on the 17th of July, 1892, and grew up with three brothers and one sister on the family farm in Flomaton. He was married to Mamie Knowles and he was registered for the draft in 1917. By February of 1918, Sidney had arrived in France with Company G, 167th Infantry, 42nd Infantry Division and it was his actions on the 28th of July when ordered to cross the Ourcq River that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
When his platoon commander and platoon sergeant had both become casualties soon after the beginning of an assault on strongly fortified heights overlooking the Ourcq River, Corporal Manning took command of his platoon, which was near the center of the attacking line. Though himself severely wounded he led forward the 35 men remaining in the platoon and finally succeeded in gaining a foothold on the enemy's position, during which time he had received more wounds and all but seven of his men had fallen. Directing the consolidation of the position, he held off a large body of the enemy only 50 yards away by fire from his automatic rifle. He declined to take cover until his line had been entirely consolidated with the line of the platoon on the front when he dragged himself to shelter, suffering from nine wounds in all parts of the body.
While recovering from his wounds, Sidney had learned that his younger sister and his infant daughter had died. His Division had been stationed in Remagen, Germany and in March of 1919, Sidney received the Medal of Honor from General Pershing, as well as the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart. Later that year, he returned home, learning that the town had planned a large celebration for him and he avoided this by getting off the train early. Sidney took on vocational training for agriculture in Greensboro and in 1921, he was asked to lay a wreath during the inaugural Veterans Day ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In 1935, a bill was pass that allowed Sidney to purchase a farm and equipment for it.
At the age of 68, on the 15th of December, 1960, Sidney Earnest Manning died in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama. He is one of two Alabama natives to receive the Medal of Honor during World War 1 and he is buried in the Little Escambia Cemetery in Flomaton, Alabama, and his wife joined him 17 years later.
