Noteworthy Medal of Honor Recipients by Avi Heiligman

Forgotten Her es

Noteworthy Medal of Honor Recipients

By Avi Heiligman

Honoring bravery on the battlefield is a tradition that goes back to ancient times. The Medal of Honor is the highest decoration for heroic acts for those serving in the military and dates back to the Civil War. In a previous article, we discussed some of the recipients of the acclaimed award from the Civil War. Here are a few more incredible stories of Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War and from later wars.

Of the 3,508 recipients of the Medal of Honor, only one was a woman, and her medal created quite a bit of controversy.

Dr. Mary Walker was born in Oswego, New York, and in 1855 graduated as a doctor from Syracuse Medical College. When her medical practice did not flourish, she went back to school and then volunteered for the army. The army did not accept her as a surgeon at first, and she served as a nurse. Walker was present at the First Battle of Bull Run and then at several other battles as an unpaid field surgeon. She set up an organization to help families visit their wounded relatives in hospitals.

In 1863, the army finally approved her as a paid surgeon, and Walker was appointed assistant surgeon to the 52nd Ohio Infantry. Her work was very dangerous as she often crossed over to enemy lines to treat patients. In April 1864, after working with a Confederate doctor on an operation, she was captured and sent to prison in Virginia. A few months later, she was released as a part of a prisoner exchange involving other medical officers.

In November 1865, Walker was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Andrew Johnson for her valuable service during the war. However, since she was never a commissioned army officer and the medal was reserved for those actually in the service, her medal was rescinded two years before her death. Nine-hundred-ten other recipients also had their medals taken away in 1917 for a variety of reasons. Efforts to restore Walker’s medal proved successful, and in 1977, Dr. Mary Walker’s Medal of Honor was reinstated.

Another civilian who had his medal taken away and later restored was the famous showman and cowboy William Frederick Cody. Known as Buffalo Bill, he served as a teamster in Company H, 7th Kansas Cavalry during the Civil War. In 1872, while serving as a civilian scout with the 3rd U.S. Cavalry, Cody and five others were staking out the enemy during the Indian Plains Wars in Nebraska. Cody got within 50 yards of the Native American camp without being noticed, and with his skill and bravery was able to lead his unit to success. For his actions, he received the Medal of Honor, but the medal was stripped shortly after he died in 1917. Finally, in 1989, after much pressure from Cody’s grandson, his medal was restored along with several other civilian scouts who had their Medal of Honors taken away.

There were two sets of fathers and sons to have been awarded the Medal of Honor. We talked about the MacArthurs in a previous article. The other pair was President Theodore Roosevelt and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The future president was a colonel during the Spanish American War in 1898 and led the 1st U.S. Cavalry up San Juan Hill. Known as the Rough Riders, the men charged up the hill amid withering enemy gunfire, and Roosevelt was the first to reach enemy trenches. Since the charge that he led was against orders, some army officials did not want him honored and it took until 2001 for the medal to be awarded.

During World War II, the Allies’ main thrust into the mainland of Europe began on June 6, 1944. Known as D-Day, there were five beaches on the coast of Normandy, France, that were assaulted, with the Americans landing on Omaha and Utah beaches. Utah Beach was the westernmost landing zone of the entire invasion and needed to be captured on D-Day to protect the Allies’ flank. The first wave of 32,000 American soldiers encountered only sporadic enemy fire but realized that they had landed over a mile off the intended target beach due to drifting of the landing craft. The highest-ranking officer on the beach, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., held a council of war in a bomb crater to discuss their options. The 56-year-old cane-wielding son of the famous president supposedly said, “We’ll start the war from here!”

The landings continued without further confusion. With just his pistol and cane, the general led several groups of soldiers from the beach and over the seawall. He personally led the troops against the enemy and rallied his men in a feat rarely seen by generals during the 20th century. By the end of the day, the entire 4th Division had landed and

Dr. Mary Walker

William Frederick Cody, also known

as Buffalo Bill

Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. - “We’ll start the war from here”

was headed inland.

For his actions that day, Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor and a month later was promoted to major general and the command of his own division. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack before he could take command.

Tibor Rubin was born in Hungary in 1929 and tried to escape the Nazis. However, he was captured and sent to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp until liberation in May 1945. Three years later, he immigrated to the U.S, where he was reunited with some of his siblings who had survived the war.

In 1949, he wanted to repay the United States for liberation but failed the English exam when trying to join the army. A year later, he was successful and became a private with the 8th Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division. His mission to become a GI Joe was complete, but soon he found himself on the front lines in Korea. An anti-Semitic sergeant always made Rubin go on the most dangerous missions, including single-handily defending a position for 24 hours. During the Battle of

Unsan, Rubin remained with his machine gun for hours under intense enemy attack until a grenade wounded him and put the gun out of commission. Rubin was captured by the Chinese and sent to a prisoner of war camp. The conditions there were terrible, with minimal food rations, forcing Rubin to sneak out of the camp to get food from enemy supply rations. He treated a fellow POW who was suffering from gan-

grene and kept the spirits of three dozen POWs high until they were set free two and half years later.

Rubin eventually returned to the U.S. and was made a citizen in late 1953. His actions hadn’t gone unnoticed but due to the anti-Semitic sergeant, his Medal of Honor papers were nowhere to be found. Finally, in 2005, Congress reviewed several cases of potential recipients, and Rubin was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George Bush.

The actions of recipients of the Medal of Honor are carefully reviewed and only those really deserving are given the prestigious award. In the 21st century, only 25 soldiers, sailors (including SEALs), airmen and marines have received the award, and while the media may focus on their heroics for a short period of time, most end up becoming forgotten heroes.

Of the 3,508 recipients of the Medal of Honor, only one was a woman.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.