Oct 09 , 2025
Edward R. Schowalter Jr., Medal of Honor Recipient at Outpost Harry
The ground was nothing but mud and blood. Explosions shook the ridge; shells screamed like death itself. Edward R. Schowalter Jr. squinted through shattered smoke. His squad was pinned, enemy closing fast, a hundred yards off. Wounded, bleeding, and barely standing, he didn't falter.
This was a crucible that would carve him into legend.
The Making of a Warrior
Edward Robert Schowalter Jr. was born in 1927 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A son of the heartland, raised under the steady gaze of church steeples and hardworking hands. His faith was more than Sunday rituals—it was steel in his spine. He carried the quiet resolve of a generation forged by the Great Depression and war. Once he donned the Army uniform, Schowalter's sense of duty became his armor.
"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle." — Psalm 144:1
This scripture wasn’t just on his lips; it was etched into the marrow of his bones. A paratrooper with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team, Schowalter embodied grit and grace under fire.
The Battle That Defined Him
November 27, 1951. The hills of Korea bore witness to carnage. The enemy launched a brutal assault on “Outpost Harry,” an isolated position crucial to holding back Chinese advances.
Lieutenant Schowalter led K Company’s second platoon. His mission: hold the line no matter the cost.
As Chinese waves crashed like a tidal hell, Schowalter was hit—twice. A bullet shattered his left thigh, and shrapnel tore into his right shoulder. Doctors would call the wounds grievous. The medics pleaded for him to withdraw.
But Schowalter’s voice cut through the chaos:
“I’m staying. We hold or we damn well die here.”
He rallied his men, repositioning squads, redistributing ammo, firing grenades. When the radio failed, his shouts ordered artillery strikes on coordinates near enough to risk friendly fire. Each decision a razor’s edge between salvation and slaughter.
His left leg a stump of burning flesh, he refused aid, crawling to a fallen comrade to drag him to safety under machine gun fire. Hours stretched beyond human limits. The night held no mercy.
By dawn, the enemy withdrew. Outpost Harry stood—bloody, battered, unbowed.
“Lieutenant Schowalter exemplified the fighting spirit and courage of America’s finest soldiers.” — 187th RCT after-action report[1]
His valor was not flamboyant but deeply grounded in sacrifice and command presence at the worst hour.
The Medal of Honor and Honors
For his actions that day, Edward R. Schowalter Jr. received the Medal of Honor.
His citation speaks blunt truth:
“Lieutenant Schowalter’s indomitable courage, leadership, and resolute determination against overwhelming enemy fire, despite multiple wounds, saved his platoon and held a vital position.”[2]
The medal itself carries the weight of countless lives spared by his tenacity.
Generals praised him, fellow soldiers revered him, but Schowalter carried his medals quietly. His war was not about glory but about the men beside him—the ones who did not march home.
Legacy Wrought in Blood and Honor
What does a man carry after such a battle? The answer is found etched in scars, both seen and unseen.
Schowalter’s story reminds warriors and civilians alike: Courage is not the absence of fear—it is resolve in the face of annihilation. Leadership means standing in the storm first, wounded or whole.
He returned from Korea to live a life of service beyond the battlefield. Yet the ridges of Korea never left him, nor the prayers whispered beneath the din of combat.
“He trusted in the Lord; He will deliver him.” — Psalm 34:19, a balm for the soldier’s soul.
His legacy whispers through time: battle is brutal, sacrifice immense, but purpose endures beyond the fighting. For those who wear the scars of combat, Schowalter's saga is a beacon—proof of what is possible when faith and courage collide in the crucible of war.
Men like Edward R. Schowalter Jr. do not simply fight battles—they embody the hard, sacred cost of freedom, and our debt to them is a lifetime of remembrance and honor.
Sources
[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, After-Action Reports: Korean War, 1951 [2] Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Edward R. Schowalter Jr. Citation
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