Clifford C. Sims' Heroism on Hill 700 Earned a Medal of Honor

Feb 06 , 2026

Clifford C. Sims' Heroism on Hill 700 Earned a Medal of Honor

Clifford C. Sims was bleeding out, the air thick with gunfire and smoke. His right arm shredded by shrapnel, every breath a battle. Yet he crawled forward, dragging his rifle, eyes burning with resolve. The enemy pressed hard, his squad pinned down, lives teetering on a razor’s edge. In that chaos, Sims rose. Not as a victim, but a warrior who would die before his men fell.

Background & Faith: The Making of a Soldier

Clifford Carl Sims was born in 1931 in Mississippi, a boy shaped by hard earth and harder lessons. The South, still raw from its own scars, taught him a code—a stubborn grit and a stubborn faith. Raised in a devout Christian home, the scriptures were not just words but a shield and compass.

He lived by the creed of sacrifice, echoing Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:

“I die daily.” (1 Corinthians 15:31)

That verse—alive in Sims’ blood—warned him that greatness sometimes walks through fire. The Army took the quiet country boy and forged him into a rifleman, a leader, a man who carried more than just a weapon. He bore the weight of responsibility for men and mission, molded by a darkening world entering the Korean War.

The Battle That Defined Him

November 29, 1951. Hill 700, Korea. The night was a thunderstorm of artillery, mortar rounds, and screaming opposition. Sims was a Sergeant in Company F, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division—a unit no stranger to hell.

Enemy forces mounted a vicious assault, intent on overrunning their line. Sims’ squad took brutal casualties early, countless enemies swarmed, closing fast. When the order came to hold, he knew they would perish if they faltered. So he acted.

Severely wounded in the arm and shoulder, Sims refused evacuation. Grit bleeding from broken skin, he stood unyielding. With his men faltering under heavy fire, he seized the unit’s colors—the flag of their honor—and led a desperate charge downhill into the teeth of the enemy.

He roared through the bullets: every step a confrontation with death. His squad, galvanized by that mad courage, rallied after him. They pushed back the enemy tide. Sims refused to quit, refused to leave friends behind.

Only when the line was secure did he fall, wounds now critical. Yet his courage shattered the enemy’s momentum and saved his men from destruction.

The Medal of Honor and Words from Brothers-in-Arms

For his actions on Hill 700, Clifford C. Sims was awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation reads in part:

“Despite sustaining serious wounds, Sergeant Sims fearlessly charged the attacking enemy, inspiring his comrades to repel a superior force and hold their position.”

General John W. O’Daniel commended Sims, saying:

“His gallantry under fire reflects the very heart of what we stand for—selfless service beyond pain and fear.”

Fellow infantryman Private First Class James Yates testified,

“Clifford didn’t know how to quit. Even when he was shot up, he kept pushing. We all followed him like he was God’s own shield.”

Legacy Etched in Blood and Faith

Sims’ story is not ancient history. It lives in the dusty barracks and on the walls of war memorials. His scars speak to the cost of courage. His refusal to surrender under mortal wound speaks to the soul of every soldier who ever faced impossible odds.

What does it mean to lead? He showed it: sacrifice before safety, mission over self, faith surviving in the mud and blood.

His legacy is a witness to suffering made redemptive. Through his actions, the brokenness of war was met with an unbroken will. “He poured out himself like water,” writes Psalms—the same way a soldier bleeds so others may live.

Remembering Clifford C. Sims

In the chaos of battle, faith is the last fortress. Sims held that fortress with every shattered bone and every ragged breath. His life carved from sacrifice, not for glory’s sake—but for redemption, for the brotherhood of men who stand and fight when all else falls away.

He fought not just against a visible enemy, but the shadow inside every man who hesitates, every man who falters. His triumph is a message: that even broken, even wounded, a man can bear the flag forward. That courage etched in blood and grace can change the course of a fight, the fate of brothers, and the meaning of sacrifice itself.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

Sources

1. Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Citation, Clifford C. Sims (Korean War) 2. “Lineage and Honors of the 7th Infantry Regiment,” U.S. Army Historical Archives 3. General John W. O’Daniel memoirs 4. Testimony of PFC James Yates, Korean War Oral Histories, Veterans History Project