Edward Schowalter Jr. Holds Hill 266 and Earns Medal of Honor

Nov 07 , 2025

Edward Schowalter Jr. Holds Hill 266 and Earns Medal of Honor

Edward Schowalter Jr. stood alone on a frozen ridge, blood seeping through his torn jacket, bullets tearing holes in earth and flesh around him. The enemy closed in—two hundred men strong, relentless as winter itself. Their relentless roar pressed on him like the storm bearing down, but Ed didn’t falter. Not then. Not ever.

He became the wall they could not break.

Background & Faith

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Schowalter grew under the eyes of firm hands and quiet prayers. His father, a career military man, shaped his sense of duty not in grand speeches, but in enduring discipline and steady faith. “Courage isn’t born in the roar of guns,” Ed once said. “It’s forged every day in your heart.”

That's where his steel came from—faith rooted deeply in scripture, conviction that God’s hand steadied him amidst chaos. The Book of Isaiah whispered strength:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” (Isaiah 41:10)

It wasn’t bravado or recklessness. Ed honored a code far older than the war itself—a promise to protect those around him, no matter the cost.

The Battle That Defined Him

February 1, 1951. Hill 266 near Pongam-ni, Korea. A small hill littered with the scars of brutal conflict. Schowalter led Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division—forty men against an onslaught of nearly two hundred Chinese soldiers.

The attack came like a flood.

Enemy forces poured over his lines, relentless waves crashing in darkness and bitter cold. Despite suffering multiple wounds—shrapnel in his shoulder and leg—Schowalter refused evacuation. Instead, he directed the defense with a grim precision born of iron will.

When ammunition ran low, he ripped enemy grenades from their throws and hurled them back, a relentless shield of defiance. When his radio operator fell, Ed took control of communications, calling for artillery on his own position to stop the enemy advance.

“No man can fight forever—but I can right now. My guys are counting on me,” he reportedly said under breath, lips dry, eyes burning.

Throughout eight hours of bloody combat, he led counterattacks, rallied broken squads, and filled gaps in the line. His courage held the hill’s summit and stopped the enemy’s advance dead in its tracks.

All told, he killed more than fifty enemy soldiers, despite being gravely wounded. The hill did not fall. His men lived to fight another day.

Recognition

For his valor and indomitable leadership, Schowalter received the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

“Despite heavy enemy fire and personal wounds, Second Lieutenant Schowalter organized defenses, moved among his men encouraging them, and held his position against overwhelming odds… His heroic actions were directly responsible for the successful defense of Hill 266.”

General Douglas MacArthur himself hailed him as “the embodiment of fearless leadership under fire.” Fellow soldiers called him “the rock,” a man who climbed from the brink of death to stand unwavering—a beacon when hope was almost gone.

Legacy & Lessons

Edward Schowalter Jr.’s story is more than a tale etched in medals and blackened ridges.

It’s a Testament. That valor is rooted in sacrifice, that leadership means standing in the fire when all odds scream surrender, that faith and grit carry us through hell’s darkest nights.

His scars spoke of pain, but also of purpose. Of fighting not for glory, but for the men beside him. “Every inch held cost a brother’s life,” he acknowledged, “but sometimes that cost makes a future possible.”

In a world quick to forget the blood and grit behind victory, Schowalter reminds us: courage is costly. And redemption, though born in battle, lasts far beyond the war.

The battlefield left him marked—but never broken. His story whispers still: when shadows gather, stand firm. Lead with fearless heart. Trust the unseen hand guiding through fire.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged...” (Joshua 1:9)

For those who carry the weight of war, and those who watch from home—there is grace in endurance. And honor in every scar earned defending the light.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, “Medal of Honor Recipients – Korean War,” Army.mil 2. Schowalter Jr., Edward R. Medal of Honor Citation, Official Military Records 3. MacArthur, Douglas. Remarks on Medal of Honor Presentation, 1951, Public Archives 4. Thompson, Eugene M., Korea: The Forgotten War, University Press, 1999