Caldwell, Vernon Avondale
Brigadier general, 182d Infantry Brigade, 91st Division
Croix de Guerre (Belgium). December, 1918: For meritorious service in action during the advance from the Lys to beyond the Escaut River, Belgium, October 31 to November 11, 1918, in that he advanced his brigade against heavy enemy machine-gun and shell fire until the cessation of hostilities on account of the Armistice.
Croce di Guerra (Italy). Italian Military Mission, General Headquarters, A.E.F, Chaumont, June 8, 1919. No specific citation of record.
Record. Born July 3, 1866, Holden, Mo.; son of William Wesley and Hannah (Snorf) Caldwell. Came to Indiana 1879. Student, Marion. Graduate, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, 1890; graduate, Infantry and Cavalry School, 1897. Second lieutenant, June 12, 1890; first lieutenant, June 7, 1897; captain, January 15, 1900; major, June 8, 1911; lieutenant colonel, October 25, 1917; brigadier general, U.S.A., October 17, 1918; colonel, January 8, 1919. Overseas June 10, 1918 - April 1, 1919. Battles: St. Die, Verdun, Ypres-Lys, Scheldt. As colonel, commanding Infantry regiment in St. Die sector; as colonel, commanding brigade of 29th Division in action at Verdun; as brigadier general, commanding 182d Infantry Brigade, 91st Division, in action near Ypres and during the advance into Belgium. Retired October 1, 1919. Active duty, May 13, 1921 to June 30, 1922. Brigadier general retired, June 21, 1930.
Married Luella E. Noble. St. Marys, Ohio.