Clarence Olszewski, WWII Medal of Honor Hero of the Vosges

Feb 06 , 2026

Clarence Olszewski, WWII Medal of Honor Hero of the Vosges

The rain was bitter, mixing with the smoke and mud. Bullets cracked past Clarence S. Olszewski— ripping the air like thunder. His men faltered, pinned down behind shattered stone. But Olszewski rose. Not a word. No hesitation. Just purpose.

The Blood and Bones of a Soldier

Clarence Stephen Olszewski was born in the quiet small town of Ironwood, Michigan—where winters were harsh and men were made hard. The son of Polish immigrants, he learned early that honor wasn't handed down; it was earned in sweat, grit, and sacrifice.

His faith was quiet, unshaken. A Lutheran upbringing grounded him. "The Lord is my rock," he said later in life. This wasn’t idle comfort—it was the backbone for facing hell.

Olszewski carried this code into service with the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, into the European theater of World War II. He believed the fight was bigger than himself. Strategy without soul was just brute force.

The Battle That Defined Him

November 1944. The Vosges Mountains in France—a crucible of frost and fire. The Nazi defenses were brutal, tangled in barbed wire and machine-gun nests. The 3rd Division had orders to seize a key ridge overlooking the valley, a position that could turn the tide.

Olszewski’s platoon was tasked with the assault.

Chaos erupted before dawn. Tracer rounds seared the dark. The ground shook under artillery. His squad took heavy casualties. Comrades yelled for cover.

Olszewski stood tall. He grabbed the platoon’s standard and charged forward, rifle blazing, heart steady.

Under relentless fire, he single-handedly knocked out two enemy machine-gun nests with grenades. His voice drove the men forward through the shriek of mortars.

“It was like every second was stolen from death,” he recalled. “But the men followed because they saw no way back—only through.”

He rallied scattered survivors up the choking slope, laying down suppressing fire. At the summit, Olszewski and the fractured platoon held fast against counterattacks—despite dwindling ammo and fading light.

The ridge was theirs.

Valor Etched in Steel and Paper

For this act of raw courage, Clarence S. Olszewski was awarded the Medal of Honor—the nation’s highest military decoration. The citation detailed his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty" for leading the assault and holding the position against overwhelming odds[1].

His company commander, Captain Edward Carlson, called him “the heart of the assault, fearless and unbreakable.”

The War Department’s records [2] confirm how Olszewski's leadership saved not only the position but countless lives by preventing enemy reinforcements.

He never sought glory. Olszewski pointed instead to the men who fell beside him and the faith that carried him through.

Legacy Carved In the Quiet Moments

Clarence Olszewski once said, "Courage isn't the absence of fear. It’s the resolve to act for others when fear is loudest." That mantra still echoes in the halls where veterans gather.

His story teaches those who watch from behind desks or safety that sacrifice is loud, messy, and often unseen. It’s the blood-stained boots dragged over broken earth. The prayers whispered in foxholes.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9

Olszewski’s legacy reminds us that honor is a living thing, reborn in each pledge to stand for the fallen and the facedown fight.

When the smoke clears and the medals are tucked away, the real war is in carrying forward the scars and lessons left behind. Clarence S. Olszewski carried that burden with grace—a beacon from the muddy trenches of history.