William Zion

William F. Zion
Born	(1872-10-23)October 23, 1872 Knightstown, Indiana
Died	Fort Oglethorpe (Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia), Georgia
Place of burial	Chattanooga National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps United States Army
Years of service	1899 – 1904 (Marine Corps) 1905 – 1919 (Army)
Rank	Private (Marine Corps) First Lieutenant (Army)
Battles/wars	China Relief Expedition *Battle of Peking World War I
Awards	Medal of Honor

William F. Zion (October 23, 1872 – March 25, 1919) was a United States Marine private received the Medal of Honor during the China Relief Expedition.

Biography

William Zion was born in Knightstown, Indiana on October 23, 1872. He served in the United States Marine Corps and later in the United States Army. In 1900, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "meritorious conduct" as a Marine in China.

He later become a United States Army First Lieutenant.

During World War I he was in charge of a German POW barracks in Fort Oglethorpe.

Zion died on March 25, 1919 of an apparent accidental gunshot wound inflicted while cleaning his weapon. Lieutenant Zion is buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

According to Sydney Gumpertz in his book The Jewish Legion of Valor, Zion was Jewish.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and Organization: Private, U.S. Marine Corps. Born: October 23, 1872, Knightstown, Ind. Accredited to: California. G. O. No.: 55 July 19, 1901.

Citation:

In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, July 21 to August 17, 1900. Throughout this period, Zion distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

See also

• List of Jewish Medal of Honor recipients
• List of Medal of Honor recipients

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.