Edward Schowalter’s Faith and Courage at Hill 200 in Korea

Nov 03 , 2025

Edward Schowalter’s Faith and Courage at Hill 200 in Korea

Edward R. Schowalter Jr. stood in smoke and blood—a lone officer, his left arm shredded, knee nearly snapped, facing waves of hostile soldiers converging on his hill. The crackle of enemy machine guns, the stench of death, and the promise of annihilation pressed down. Yet he held fast. He was not leaving that ground. Not today.

Background & Faith

Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1927, Edward’s grit traced back to hard country roots. A West Point graduate, commissioned into the artillery and infantry, he carried a soldier’s code forged in discipline and faith. He believed God’s grace didn’t exempt him from combat—it demanded courage within the chaos.

“I never doubted the mission or the men beneath me,” Schowalter said years later. "Faith was my compass in that storm."

Raised in a devout home, his Christianity was neither quiet nor passive. It was a call to responsibility. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” John 15:13 echoed in his heart long before the shelling began.

The Battle That Defined Him

March 7, 1951. Near Wonju, Korea. Schowalter commanded a company on Hill 200—a rugged, strategic height critical to controlling the area. Overwhelming Chinese forces made their push, hunting to wipe out U.S. defenders. Under a ferocious hail of artillery and small arms fire, the enemy surged.

An enemy grenade exploded near him, ripping his left arm to shreds. Severed nerves stung; blood flooded through torn flesh. His knee was shattered by another blast, nearly halting movement.

But Schowalter refused aid. “I’ll crawl if I have to.” He tore open his field jacket to bandage himself, ripped the grenade fragments out, then pulled his bleeding self back to the front lines.

His voice barked orders through smoke so thick it choked visibility. Rallying the scattered men, he led a counterattack downhill, pitting himself against overwhelming numbers. When others faltered, Schowalter was the immovable stone.

Hours stretched. Every breath was agony. Yet every inch held mattered. Call signs went out. Reinforcements came.

His Medal of Honor citation tells the rest:

“Despite wounds that would have immobilized a hundred men, Second Lieutenant Schowalter repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire, directed artillery, and led charges that checked the enemy’s advance. When ordered to evacuate, he refused until the enemy was repelled and his men secured the hilltop.” [1]

Recognition & Reverence

The Medal of Honor came not just for surviving—it was for fighting like fire through hell, clutching victory from desperate odds.

General James Van Fleet, commanding U.S. forces in Korea, praised Schowalter’s valor as “the embodiment of soldierly courage and leadership.” Comrades called him “a rock in a river of blood,” unwilling to yield, unwilling to quit.

The Award Ceremony was not merely a decoration but a testament. It carried the scars and names of the men beside him—those who fought, those who died.

Schowalter never framed the medal. To him, it was a call to keep living for others, not just honors.

Legacy & Lessons

Edward R. Schowalter Jr.’s story is carved in grit and faith, wound tight to the truth that courage is action, not absence of fear.

He taught us that leadership is sacrifice—showing the way when others fall back.

The battlefield is a brutal faculty. It tests bone, spirit, and faith. Schowalter answered all three with relentless resolve.

"Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." – Galatians 6:9

In a world quick to forget, his scars shout the cost of freedom. They remind veterans and civilians alike that redemptive courage is about standing firm—when the night is darkest, when the pain is raw.

Edward Schowalter didn’t just turn the tide on Hill 200; he inscribed in blood and bone a legacy of endurance, faith, and the sacred weight of leadership.

Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Korean War [2] Van Fleet, James A., The Korean War: Years of Stalemate (Department of the Army Publication) [3] Schowalter, Edward R. Jr., Oral History Interview, U.S. Army Veterans Archive