Sergeant James I. Mestrovitch (May 22, 1894 – November 4, 1918) was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor, America's highest military decoration, for his valiant actions in World War I. Biography Mestrovitch, an ethnic Serb, was born as Joko Meštrović in Đuraševići near Tivat, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (modern-day Montenegro) and after immigrating to the United States in 1911 he lived in Fresno, California. He enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 18th Infantry in 1916 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Following his enlistment Private Mestrovich was deployed along the Mexican Border in support of the 1916 Punitive expedition with the Pennsylvania National Guard where his skill and experience as a soldier saw him promoted to corporal. Mestrovich was interviewed by newspaper reporters and attributed his patriotism and service as a debt repaid for the work of American doctors treating the typhoid epidemic in his native Serbia in 1914, the same year World War I began in Europe. On April 13, 1917, a week after the American entry into World War I, the 18th Pennsylvania Infantry was called to federal to guard vital wartime industry in western Pennsylvania. A short time later, the men found themselves shipped to Camp Hancock, Georgia. Here, the Pittsburgh Regiment joined with the men of the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry from Philadelphia and surrounding counties to form the new 111th Infantry Regiment, part of the 28th Division. The division was deployed overseas to the Western Front in May 1918. On August 10, 1918, while his unit was engaged in the town of Fismette, France Sergeant Mestrovich saw his company commander, Captain James Williams, fall wounded as they moved through the ruins of the city. Without regard for his own safety, Mestrovich charged forward through a hail of machine-gun fire and falling artillery shells to rescue his Captain, returning to a concealed position to provide life-saving first aid. For this action, he would become the 28th Division's first Medal of Honor recipient. Mestrovich was wounded in the fighting where he performed his heroic deed and initially reported as killed in action. He wrote to his uncle back in Fresno to tell him of being shot by machine-gun fire and recuperating in the hospital, stating, "They operated twice on me, and in another month I think I will be just as good as I was and ready for the front again." Mestrovich did recover and return