Subdeacon Joe Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 Reached 2nd Gun Pit, Left 50 Dead in his Wake… Medal of Honor citationCpl. Miyamura, a member of Company H, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. On the night of 24 April, Company H was occupying a defensive position when the enemy fanatically attacked threatening to overrun the position. Cpl. Miyamura, a machinegun squad leader, aware of the imminent danger to his men unhesitatingly jumped from his shelter wielding his bayonet in close hand-to-hand combat killing approximately 10 of the enemy. Returning to his position, he administered first aid to the wounded and directed their evacuation. As another savage assault hit the line, he manned his machinegun and delivered withering fire until his ammunition was expended. He ordered the squad to withdraw while he stayed behind to render the gun inoperative. He then bayoneted his way through infiltrated enemy soldiers to a emplacement and assisted in its operation. When the intensity of the attack necessitated the withdrawal of the company Cpl. Miyamura ordered his men to fall back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 of the enemy before his ammunition was depleted and he was severely wounded. He maintained his magnificent stand despite his painful wounds, continuing to repel the attack until his position was overrun. When last seen he was fighting ferociously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers. Cpl. Miyamura’s indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the utmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions on the military service. Miyamura, with his wife and granddaughter at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 What happened after "when last seen"??
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 What happened after "when last seen"?? He was obviously Killed!
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 He was obviously Killed! And resurrected for photo-ops with Ike and his granddaughter?
Subdeacon Joe Posted October 25, 2015 Author Posted October 25, 2015 What happened after "when last seen"?? From the linked site: “I crawled underneath the wire and I ran another 25 to 30 feet, then I couldn’t run anymore because it was a high mountain,” Miyamura explained. “I passed out there and, before I knew it, I heard troops going by my position. I was lying face down, but I didn’t move because I didn’t know if they were the enemy or ours. I heard the noise die down, and then thought I was safe but before I even moved I heard a voice in English saying ‘Get up, you’re my prisoner. Don’t worry, we have a lenient policy. We won’t harm you.'” Miyamura recounted that he first realized he was injured when he tried to get up. He’d received leg wounds from grenades – not bad enough for him to notice while trying to get free, but enough to cripple him while walking after he was captured. The enemy took him to a rear area where other men from his company were wounded. “We didn’t have any medical assistance from the Chinese. We had to doctor our own wounds,” said Miyamura. “I saw other American soldiers with wounds. We helped each other out.” For him and the other POWs, fixing their wounds would become the least of their worries over the passing months. “I never had any side effects from my wounds, but I had dysentery almost the first month or so because we were drinking water that wasn’t even good for our systems,” he said. “We didn’t learn until much later that we needed to boil our water, but we weren’t allowed to boil water during our march because we had to make a certain number of kilometers a day. The only time we could boil water was during our stops at night.” Miyamura described how they would travel from one village to the next, where another group of guards would be waiting to take them. During that time the Chinese would fill them with communist propaganda, and the interpreters, some of whom were educated in Russia, spoke English well. The trek and the lack of proper food wore down some of the soldiers, many of whom were very young. “I was exhausted and so hungry, and I almost gave up,” he said. “We were each given a sack, about 2 or 3 inches in diameter, and about 2 1/2 feet long that we had to carry on our marches. That was our rations for one week. It consisted of finely ground barley and rice. We were told to grab the whole of the grain, put it in our mouth and wash it down with water.” Unfortunately, many of the younger soldiers refused to eat and starved as the march went along. Some died because they lost the will to live, but Miyamura, even at the end of his rope, knew he wanted to go on. “I didn’t want to think about what was happening,” he said. “I wanted to concentrate on raising a family once I got home. I think that’s what kept me going.” Problem was, his family didn’t even know if he was dead or alive. The Army had sent them a letter that said only that Miyamura was missing in action. His family didn’t hear any word of him for about a year. A native of Gallup, N.M., Miyamura had been a member of the World War II Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He didn’t see fighting, however, because he was too young to ship overseas immediately and then he suffered a hernia. By the time he recovered from surgery, the war was over. He was in the Army Reserve when Korea flared. The days passed into months and the months passed into more than two years. “For over a year we heard rumors that we were going to go home, peace talks are going well, then the next thing we would hear is that they are not going well,” said Miyamura. “So it got to the point later that we thought we would never be released.” He was repatriated Aug. 23,1953, at Freedom Village near Panmunjom. “We crossed Freedom Village. To this day I don’t remember crossing the bridge,” said Miyamura. “All I can remember is seeing a big U.S. flag flying in the breeze, and I just concentrated on that flag. After a short period of relaxation, I was escorted to a room where I met a reporter from my hometown and the general of the 3rd Infantry Division (Brig. Gen. Ralph Osborne). He told me that I would receive the Medal of Honor. I didn’t feel I was doing anything out of the ordinary. I felt I was doing my job.” Miyamura was overwhelmed because he’d seen himself as a follower, not a guy who was in charge. “Today I’d rather be in the background then sit out in front,” he said. “The medal is very humbling, and I’m very honored to receive it for what I did.” The citation for his medal was signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1951, but was kept secret until his release because of fear the Chinese would retaliate against him for his part for killing so many of their soldiers. He received his Medal of Honor Oct. 27, 1953, from President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a White House ceremony, becoming the second Japanese American to earn the award up to that time. Miyamura went home to Gallup to be with his wife, Terri, and started a family. Today, he has three children and four grandchildren. After the Korean War, he worked as an auto mechanic, a skill he picked up during his high school years working with his cousin. He returned to Korea in the 1970s for the 25th anniversary of the war and again in 2000. On the second visit, he traveled to his battleground. “Everything is overgrown, so visually nothing looked the same,” said Miyamura. “It did bring back some memories, though I tried to put some of them out of my mind. I was grateful to see the area again, I thought I never would see it again.” Today, Miyamura said, he feels South Korea is free because of the sacrifices made by the men who gave their lives and who put their lives on the line. “I feel the lives lost and the time we Korean veterans spent over here was well worth the effort because seeing how South Korea has prospered makes me feel it was all worthwhile,” said Miyamura. “They are a free country today because of what we did.”
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 What an ass kicker. Bravo Zulu, Cpl. And, Thank you Sir for your service.
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 The Force is Strong in this one!
Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 He was obviously Killed! And resurrected for photo-ops with Ike and his granddaughter? We really do need a sarcasm emoticon.
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