A Hero From One War In-Person For The Next

Portage, Wisconsin Salutes World War One's Congressional Honoree

Above is an ad to go well with this 70th anniversary of D-Day. Private Clayton Slack was several notable things for which Wisconsin could take pride, being the state's only World War One combatant to be awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor, and the sole private to come out of the conflict with that honor. Slack earned his medal by single-handedly taking ten German prisoners and two heavy-duty machine guns. He ran a radio shop and a restaurant for a while after the war, but was lured to show business by demand from so many to hear first-hand of his battlefield exploits. Billed as "The Golden Chevron," Slack toured theatres cross country under aegis of vet showman and producer David Loew, the hero a staple of vaude bills from the late-20's onward. There were also film appearances, notably a 1933 documentary Hell's Holiday, which would accompany Slack's appearance at the Home Theatre (500 seats) in Portage, Wisconsin. This would have been late 1944, judging by release dates of features the Home was running prior to, and with, Private Slack's presentation (3 Is A Family and A Wave, A Wac, and A Marine). "Meet Him In Person" meant tender of autographs in addition to the handshake, some of signed items turning up still at war memento auctions and E-Bay. Pvt. Slack was surprised on one occasion by a greeter who turned out to be among those Germans he had captured years before. The Congressional honoree died in 1976 at age 80.