Edward R. Schowalter Jr.'s Medal of Honor Valor in Korea

Nov 07 , 2025

Edward R. Schowalter Jr.'s Medal of Honor Valor in Korea

The enemy pressed in from all sides, bullets ripping past like angry hornets. Lieutenant Edward R. Schowalter Jr. — bleeding, nearly crippled — refused to fall back. His men depended on him. He moved forward.

Background & Faith

Born in 1927 in New Orleans, Edward Robert Schowalter Jr. carried the weight of Southern grit and a disciplined heart from his earliest days. His formative years taught him honor—the kind carved in hard work and faith that anchored him through storms yet unseen.

Before Korea, Schowalter served in World War II and the post-war occupation, but Korea tested him in ways no manual could prepare. A West Point graduate, he believed in leading from the front—no orders barked from the rear, no man left behind.

His faith was quiet but unshakable. Scripture wasn’t just words; it was a lifeline. The psalm, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” echoed in his mind as he stood before a maelstrom of mortal chaos. A field officer shaped by conviction and courage, ready to answer the call.

The Battle That Defined Him

March 7, 1951. Outnumbered and outgunned near Hoengsong, Korea, Schowalter's platoon faced a wave of Chinese infantry determined to annihilate them.

Their position: a ridge, exposed and under relentless fire. When the enemy surged, many wavered, but Schowalter did not. He led the counterattack himself, despite a grievous wound to his shoulder.

His Silver Star citation explicitly describes his refusal to yield: he grabbed a machine gun, moved between foxholes, called fire on enemy positions, and rallied his men with ferocious instinct. Multiple times, he was knocked down, only to rise and fight on.

The Medal of Honor citation paints the full picture: after being seriously wounded in action, he continued to command and direct fire, crawling from position to position, killing enemy soldiers and urging his troops forward. His actions held the line against overwhelming forces — “he inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy, enabling his company to hold its position.”

One comrade later remarked, “I’ve never seen a man fight like that. You think you’re finished, then there’s Ed — a living testament to what it means never to quit.”

Recognition

Congress awarded Edward R. Schowalter Jr. the Medal of Honor on October 14, 1951, a solemn recognition of valor beyond the call.

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty...”

His official citation stands as a roadmap of sacrifice and leadership under fire. It lists wounds, barrages of enemy grenades, and exhaustion. Yet at every hardship, Schowalter met the abyss with a defiant roar.

This wasn’t just battlefield bravery. It was leadership distilled to its purest form: sacrifice without hesitation, service without self-interest. His legacy was not merely medals hung on a chest — but lives saved because he refused surrender.

Legacy & Lessons

Edward Schowalter’s story is a stark reminder: courage under fire defines a man, but courage to lead broken is heroic. He showed what it means to embody grace in gore.

The battlefield scars faded with time — but the lessons endured like a torch passed to every soldier who faces impossible odds. Discipline welded to faith gives strength beyond flesh and blood. Leadership demands sacrifice, not when it’s easy, but when it burns the deepest.

His life echoes that old, raw truth from Romans 5:3–4:

“Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Schowalter taught us hope isn’t naive. It’s forged in blood, nurtured in hardship. Veterans carry this flame like a sacred trust — a testament to the dark times that reveal the human spirit’s fiercest light.

In honoring men like Schowalter, we do more than remember history. We carry forward a legacy of relentless courage, enduring faith, and unbreakable brotherhood.

That is the battlefield’s final command — and the one we answer every day.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History: Medal of Honor Recipients — Korean War 2. “Edward R. Schowalter Jr., Medal of Honor Recipient” — Military Times Hall of Valor 3. Official Medal of Honor Citation, October 14, 1951, U.S. Government Archives