Wounded Lt. Schowalter's Medal of Honor Stand on Hill 605

Nov 18 , 2025

Wounded Lt. Schowalter's Medal of Honor Stand on Hill 605

Edward R. Schowalter Jr. stood alone amid a sea of bodies—wounded men, broken weapons, smoke choking the sky—and still refused to yield. His leg shattered, blood pumping cold fire through torn flesh, yet he advanced, rallying his men through insurgent whispers of death. His cry cut through chaos: “Hold this ground!” The hill’s fate hung on his shoulders. And he bore it, crushing pain beneath relentless fury.

Born of Resolve and Reckoning

Edward was no stranger to hardship or faith. Raised in a military family in Alabama, discipline and duty carved their image early into his bones. His father, a West Point graduate, taught him that courage was not a choice but an obligation born of honor and sacrifice. When Schowalter enlisted in 1949, he carried a creed deeper than doctrine—a belief shaped by Mammon’s shadows and the light of scripture.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6

Faith was his quiet weapon. It steadied the shaking hands, hardened the resolve when orders turned to firestorms and death danced close.

The Impossible Stand on Hill 605

October 7, 1952, off the bloodied soil of Korea—a brutal stalemate etched into frozen hills—the 31st Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division faced annihilation on Hill 605.

Lieutenant Schowalter commanded a rifle platoon tasked with holding a strategic outpost against a ferocious assault by Chinese forces, reportedly over a battalion strong, five times his numbers[^1].

When the enemy charged with massed machine guns and grenades, Schowalter was already wounded. His left leg shattered by mortar fragments, he refused evacuation.

Under a hellstorm of artillery and enemy bayonets, he reorganized fleeing troops.

His voice was steel. His orders simple and deadly clear.

He personally manned a machine gun, raking enemy waves with blistering fire despite immense agony and blood loss. Twice more he pushed forward, rallying struggling squads to bunch together and repel attackers in hand-to-hand combat.

When enemy forces overwhelmed forward positions, he seized grenades and directed counterattacks, stopping their momentum and buying time.

Only when the unit was secure and the enemy broken did he allow medics to tend to his wounds.

Honors Carved in Blood

For his fearless leadership and near-superhuman endurance, Schowalter received the Medal of Honor. His citation speaks plainly of valor:

“Lieutenant Schowalter’s gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Army.”[^2]

Fellow soldiers remembered him as “the rock we clung to,” one who “never lost a step even bleeding and broken.” His courage reshaped what men thought possible under fire.

Gen. William Westmoreland later noted that Schowalter’s stand exemplified “the kind of grit and indomitable spirit our army needs.”

Legacy Etched in Will and Word

Edward R. Schowalter Jr. walks among the giants of combat with a scarred badge of truth: courage is not painlessness but endurance. Sacrifice is not surrender but decision. The battlefield does not erase faith—it tests it.

He showed us that the hour of darkness demands more than muscle—it demands heart. A heart ready to bleed, a soul anchored in a cause greater than self-preservation.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

In remembering Schowalter—wounded but unwavering, leader beyond fear—we learn this: valor is a creed lived every second under fire. Redemption waits not in victory alone but in the stand made despite the odds.

His story is not just Korean War history. It is a call to arms for every man and woman who carries scars, silent or seen, and chooses to press forward into the darkness.

Sources

[^1]: U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Korean War [^2]: United States Army, Medal of Honor Citation, Lt. Edward R. Schowalter Jr.