Perhaps because he had previously been accused of being a coward, Owen was determined to show what a good soldier he could be. On 1 October 1918 he led his men in an attack near the village of Joncourt, and his bravery was recognised by his being awarded the Military Cross. However, shortly afterwards, while trying to cross the Sambre canal with his men, he was killed. He died at the age of 25, only a week before the end of the war.