His story as told by Lowell Thomas is that he
was blown up by a shell that landed in his trench,
His arm was partially severed and caught in the
revetting of the trench wall. When the germans came
along he shot one and took the others prisoner,
He then made them cut his arm off, and put it in
his backpack and then they went back to the American
lines, some were killed on the way I believe.
The story was that he brought his arm back to
prove it wasn’t a self inflicted wound.
When he was a boy, he knew a one armed veteran of
the civil war and was so impressed by the fact that
he didn’t let one arm keep him from doing anything,
that he practiced using either arm to do just about
anything.
His story is called, This Side of Hell.
He received 55 wounds and lost an arm and a leg.
He received 83 medals.
Key words being “Lowell Thomas.” As I recall, there was nothing in the MoH citation about losing an arm. There was a great deal of exaggeration, including a lot by Edwards, later in life. Why he thought he needed to embellish an already exceptional story is a mystery. The MoH facts stand on their own.