Edward R. Schowalter Jr.'s Medal of Honor at Heartbreak Ridge

Oct 22 , 2025

Edward R. Schowalter Jr.'s Medal of Honor at Heartbreak Ridge

Blood hides in the dust and sweat. Men fall like wheat beneath a storm. But Edward R. Schowalter Jr. — he bleeds, limps, and fights on. Against impossible odds. Against pain searing through his body. The enemy closes in. But surrender? Not an option. Not for this man.

The Making of a Warrior

Edward R. Schowalter Jr. was born in 1927 in Wheeling, West Virginia — forged in the blue collar grit of the American heartland. Raised among strong, steady hands and faithful tongues, his compass pointed true north: honor, duty, God. Schowalter’s faith was silent but unyielding—a steady fire in the darkness that war sometimes brings.

He learned early that sacrifice was more than a word. It was a contract sealed in blood and sweat. That code echoed in every step he took into service. A believer in scripture and soldier’s creed, Schowalter carried that weight with humility—a man who prayed not just for victory, but that the fallen find peace.

The Battle That Defined Him: November 29, 1951, Heartbreak Ridge

The Korean War was brutal, relentless. Heartbreak Ridge—named after the bodies piled high on its jagged face—was ground soaked in American blood.

Second Lieutenant Schowalter led Company E, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. The enemy attacked in force near Tongmang-ni, intent on wiping his unit from the map.

Schowalter’s battalion was pinned down. Mortars rained. Machine gun fire tore through cover. Men staggered, some down, many wounded.

He took a bullet to the arm, but he didn’t stop. Instead, blood streaking down his sleeve, Schowalter rallied his men.

He called artillery strikes on his own position. On one brutal hillside under hail and fire, he stood exposed, waving his men forward.

His voice hoarse from shouting orders, his body screaming in agony, he refused to break.

Even after a second wound—this time to his leg—Schowalter crawled to a forward machine gun. Once there, he laid down suppressive fire, buying time and space to evacuate the wounded.

Hours felt like days. Exhaustion pressed hard. Still, he directed defenders, moved reinforcements. His leadership sparked grit and defiance where despair threatened to take hold.

The Medal of Honor: Testimony to Valor

For extraordinary heroism, Schowalter received the Medal of Honor. The official citation reads:

“Second Lieutenant Schowalter’s outstanding courage and aggressiveness in the face of overwhelming odds brought about the defeat of the enemy attack and saved the lives of many of his men.”[^1]

General James Van Fleet later praised his actions, calling Schowalter “an exemplar of selflessness and tenacity amid chaos.”

Fellow soldiers remember him as a leader who didn’t ask others to do what he wouldn’t do himself, a man marked not just by valor but by steadfastness—the kind forged in hardship that never wavers.

Legacy Etched in Blood and Faith

Edward Schowalter’s story is a raw reminder: courage is not absence of fear, but mastery over it. His wounds speak of pain endured. His decisions, of lives saved. And behind every act of valor stands a soul wrestling with the weight of command.

We honor him not because war is glorious, but because sacrifice demands recognition. Schowalter’s courage was born from faith in something greater than himself, the unspoken promise that no struggle is wasted.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” — Philippians 4:13

This verse carried him through the dark. It can carry us still.

The battlefield never forgets. It writes its history on broken bodies and unyielding spirits. Edward R. Schowalter Jr. walked through war’s fire and came back a beacon—scarred but unbroken, a warrior who taught us that leadership is blood, faith, and the grit to stand fast when all else falls.

His legacy endures in the silence after the gunfire, the calm before the dawn, the resolve in every soldier’s eye facing the unknown.

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Medal of Honor Recipients: Korean War,” Department of Defense.