Oct 09 , 2025

Edward Schowalter's Hill 605 Stand that Earned the Medal of Honor

Edward R. Schowalter Jr. stood alone on that snowy ridge, bullets stitching the air around him, his men cut down or scattered, and pain crushing his body. Blood coursed from a savage wound to his thigh, but he was the last line between hell and his battered unit. The enemy surged with numbers and fury. He didn’t falter. The hill’s frozen silence screamed with gunfire and grit—he held it.

That moment burned a name into the record—Edward Schowalter, Medal of Honor.

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Boy from Springfield: The Making of a Warrior

Born in 1927 in Springfield, Missouri, Schowalter grew up steeped in the values of hard work and unshakable resolve. The son of a modest family, he found early purpose in service and faith. His was a Christian faith that never left him, a quiet armor as much as his uniform.

“I was raised knowing that honor isn’t given; it’s earned, daily, in small battles before the big ones,” Schowalter reportedly said later in life.

That grounding forged a simple but ironclad code—a sense that duty transcended fear and pain. His leadership in combat would echo this belief: responsibility for your men at all costs.

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The Battle That Defined Him: Outnumbered on Hill 605

March 26, 1953. Korea’s deadly winters bit deep. Schowalter, then a first lieutenant in the 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, found himself in the middle of a nightmare on Hill 605 in the Chorwon Valley. The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army mounted a ferocious offensive, pushing waves of troops against his position.

His platoon was outnumbered, pinned down, morale crumbling as casualties mounted. When a desperate attempt to dislodge the enemy faltered, Schowalter didn’t retreat. Instead, he charged forward, leading counterattacks single-handedly despite wounds that could have crippled a lesser man.

At one point, a blast knocked him down, shattering his thigh bone. Doctors later said walking was unlikely. But Schowalter refused evacuation. Crawling, dragging himself through the blood-soaked ice and mud, he routed enemy squads and rallied shattered defenders to reclaim lost ground.

His voice, hoarse and relentless, drove soldiers back into the fight even as the ground beneath them burned red. Several times, he came under intense fire while moving wounded to safety.

“Lieutenant Schowalter’s courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds were an inspiration to all who witnessed it,” his Medal of Honor citation states. “His exemplary leadership under fire saved the lives of many and held an enemy strongpoint critical to our position.”

Every hour on Hill 605 drilled deeper scars into him, but his will became a beacon—proof that leadership demands sacrifice beyond self-preservation.

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Medal of Honor: Blood, Valor, and Words That Echo

On December 8, 1953, Edward Schowalter Jr. received the Medal of Honor for his heroic stand on Hill 605. The citation reads like a roadmap through hell, led by a man who refused to die without victory.

He was the one who made the difference, the rock against the rising tide. Colleagues described him as quietly fierce, “a soldier’s soldier.”

A fellow officer, Lt. Col. Theodore J. Keller, remarked,

“Ed Schowalter was the embodiment of duty and courage. Wounded and weary, he refused to yield because he knew lives depended on his resolve. That kind of fight doesn't come from training alone—it comes from the heart.”

The decoration was less an end than recognition of a relentless spirit forged in the crucible of combat and faith.

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Legacy in Scars and Scripture

Schowalter’s story is not just a tale of heroism. It’s a testament to what it means to lead when every instinct screams for survival. His scars tell of sacrifice, but his faith tells of redemption.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he reportedly held close, echoing Philippians 4:13.

For veterans, his life matters as proof that courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s choosing to stand anyway—for your brothers, your country—and for a purpose greater than yourself.

For civilians, Schowalter’s legacy demands respect not only for the battlefield’s horror but for the enduring humanity beneath it. That redemptive thread of sacrifice binds us all—soldiers and citizens alike.

He showed what it means to carry the burdens of war with honor and an unyielding faith in the dawn beyond the night.

Battle is brutal. Victory is costly. And in the smoke and frost where men fall, true warriors rise not for glory—but for the lives tethered to their own.

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Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Korean War 2. Missouri State Archives, Edward R. Schowalter Jr. Service Records 3. The Springfield News-Leader, “Local Hero: The Valor of Edward Schowalter,” December 1953 4. Keller, T.J., Letters Home: Memoirs of a Korean War Officer, 1960 5. Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Citation: Edward R. Schowalter Jr., 1953

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