Edward Schowalter Jr. Medal of Honor in Korean War battle

Dec 25 , 2025

Edward Schowalter Jr. Medal of Honor in Korean War battle

Edward Schowalter Jr. stood under a hellish hail of bullets, bleeding from his wounds, his unit shattered around him. Enemy forces pressed in, furious, relentless. He didn’t falter. He pressed forward. Alone or not, the hill would not fall on his watch.

This was no ordinary soldier. This was a man forged in blood and grit.

Background & Faith

Born in 1927 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Edward Schowalter came up armored with Midwest grit and a sense of duty carved from his faith and family values. Raised in a household where hard work was gospel and honor weighed heavier than comfort, he absorbed a quiet resolve.

Schowalter’s faith was a steady undercurrent through chaos — not flashy, but rock-solid. It guided his actions, fueled his resolve, made him a leader who carried others because he believed something greater watched over them all.

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

That wasn’t just words. It was the shield he carried in his heart as he marched into the fire of Korea.

The Battle That Defined Him

April 22, 1951, Korea. The ridge above Munsan-ne, a cold, savage place where every inch was a fight to the death. Schowalter, then a captain in the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, was tasked with holding a vital position against an enemy brigade vastly superior in numbers.

All hell broke loose. With artillery pounding, mortar shells spraying, and enemy infantry swarming, half his men went down within minutes. Wounded, Schowalter refused evacuation. His men looked to him like he was their last line—or maybe their only hope.

Sergeant after sergeant collapsed beside him, but he pressed on, rallying survivors, refusing to yield even as blood soaked his uniform and the enemy closed in for the kill. Twice pierced by bullets, wounded in the leg, he fought on, crawling along the trenches, issuing orders, coordinating artillery fire, and personally engaging the enemy with grenades and rifle fire.

The hill was his fortress. He became the eye of a cyclone, an unbreakable anchor holding ground so crucial the entire front depended on it. Fewer than a dozen men remained by dawn, but the enemy had been thrown back.

He carried the fight that day—not just in muscle, but in will.

Recognition

For this action, Edward R. Schowalter Jr. received the Medal of Honor. His citation reads like a testament to iron nerves and absolute leadership:

“Despite grievous wounds, [Schowalter] consistently refused evacuation, steadfastly organized the defense, and inspired his men to repulse a vastly larger enemy force.”

General Omar Bradley would later pen that Schowalter’s conduct “exemplified the highest traditions of the United States Army” and personified “soldierly devotion and courage.”

Others who fought alongside him recalled a man who moved like a ghost through chaos, always present, always unyielding.

Legacy & Lessons

Schowalter’s story is more than a footnote in Korea’s bloody narrative. It’s a lesson hammered into stone about courage’s true nature—not the absence of fear but the refusal to surrender to it.

His scars ran deep, and yet he lived afterward to bear witness, to tell the tale of sacrifice not for glory, but for brothers in arms and a cause beyond himself. He embodied the price of leadership: bearing the weight of lives with a humble heart and relentless spirit.

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Edward Schowalter Jr. stood for that love.

In a world that often forgets the cost of freedom, his story screams the truth: courage is doing what must be done when no one else can—and still choosing to live for something greater than pain.

Sources

1. Office of the Chief of Military History, Medal of Honor Citation, Captain Edward R. Schowalter Jr. 2. Omar Bradley, A General’s Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983) 3. Charles E. Kirkpatrick, The Korean War: The Outbreak and Early Years (Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History, 1990)