John C. Villepigue

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John Canty Villepigue (March 29, 1896 - April 18, 1919) was an American Army Corporal during World War I, notable for being a Medal of Honor recipient.

Villepigue was a descendent of Confederate Army General John Bordenave Villepigue, and like John Bordenave Villepigue he was born and raised in Camden, South Carolina. Kershaw County, South Carolina, in which Camden is located, has a rich military history, and was home to several war heros from different wars.

Villepigue entered the army in Camden, assigned to Company M, 118th Infantry, 30th Division. While fighting near Vaux-Andigny, France, on October 15, 1918, Villepigue and two other soldiers were ordered to scout through the village of Vaux-Andigny. During their trek through the village, they were ambushed by German machine gun fire, which killed one of his fellow soldiers, and wounded the other. Advancing forward on his own for more than 500 yards, with his platoon left far behind, Villepigue encountered four enemy soldiers manning the machine gun pit. He engaged them with handgrenade, killing them. Crawling another 150 yards forward, he encountered a second machine gun pit, which he rushed, alone, killing another four enemy soldiers and capturing another six, along with securing two machine guns. He had been badly wounded in the arm during this action, from which he would later die on April 18, 1919.

Villepigue was buried near John B. Villepigue in the "Old Quaker Cemetery", in his hometown of Camden, South Carolina. That cemetery also maintains the grave of fellow World War I Medal of Honor recipient Richmond Hobson Hilton, the graves of Civil War Confederate Generals Joseph B. Kershaw and John Doby Kennedy, as well as Confederate soldier and hero from the Battle of Fredericksburg, Richard Rowland Kirkland. In 2004 Villepigue was honored by the South Carolina House of Representatives for his heroism during World War I.