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Submitted: 5/28/09 • Approved: 5/19/19 • Last Updated: 5/22/19 • R199155-G0-S3
SERGEANT US Army
Company B 356 Infantry 89 Division
January 6, 1894 - August 31, 1967
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
*Obituary
Newspaper Unknown
September 1967
Full military rites were held on Sunday, Sept. 3 at the GAR cemetery at Sulphur Springs for M. Waldo Hatler of Neosho.
Mr. Hatter was the last surviving Missouri veteran of World War I who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. He came to Sulphur several years ago and selected the cemetery atop the hill for his final resting place. A large and beautiful stone was erected at that time and he said "I prefer this quiet mountain top to a military cemetery."
Hatler received the nation's highest medal for his feats of bravery in a reconnaissance mission to the German occupied town of Pouilly. He was included in a story which listed General George Patton's 100 best war stories.
He lived at Neosho most of his life and the VFW post conducted the military rites. The Sulphur Legion post was represented by Jim Lynn and Jesse Dills.
*Obituary
M. Waldo Hatler was born January 6, 1894 at Bolivar, Missouri, elder of two sons of Troy and Rose Hatler. His father was a banker and real estate developer. Waldo graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1914 but never practiced law, instead following his father into banking and real estate. He was working in his father's bank at Neosho, Missouri when the United States entered World War I. He attempted to secure a commission in the navy but was turned down for medical reasons. He later waived exemption to the draft and was inducted into the army from Neosho. Assigned to Company B, 356th Infantry, he had risen to the rank of sergeant when, just days before the armistice, his regiment was halted by the enemy in its advance toward Germany at the Meuse River near the French village of Pouilly. Information relative to enemy strength and disposition on the opposite bank was vitally needed and Hatler was one of several men to volunteer.
Extensive biographical and autobiographical information is contained in The M. Waldo Hatler Story, a book compiled and published by in 1968 by his widow Margaret Hatler, using the Ozarkana Book Press (Neosho, Mo.) imprint.
M. Waldo Hatler is buried at Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery, Sulphur Springs, Arkansas.
Contributed on 5/28/09 by wfields55
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Record #: 199155