Medal of Honor: Charles E. Mower – World War II (Leyte Campaign) – November 3, 1944
Knee-deep in a bullet-churned stream near Capoocan, Leyte, Sergeant Charles E. Mower refused to fall back after being mortally wounded. Half-submerged and dying, he kept shouting orders — leading his squad to victory until the last breath left his body.
November 4, 2025
Name: Charles E. Mower
Rank: Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army, Company A, 34th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Near Capoocan, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 3 November 1944
Entered Service At: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Birth: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
G.O. No.: 17, 11 February 1946
Summary of Action
As his unit fought through intense Japanese resistance in the jungles of Leyte, Sergeant Charles E. Mower stepped into command when his squad leader was killed. Leading an assault across a stream swept by machine gun fire, Mower was hit and gravely wounded before reaching the far bank.
Refusing to withdraw or accept medical aid, he recognized that his position in the stream gave him the best view of the enemy’s fortifications. From that exposed position — half-submerged, bleeding, and under direct fire — he directed his squad’s attack, destroying two machine guns and silencing multiple riflemen.
When the enemy realized that the wounded man in the stream was orchestrating their destruction, they focused every weapon on him. He was killed while still shouting commands, his last breath driving his men onward to victory.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Near Capoocan, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 3 November 1944.
Entered service at: Chippewa Falls, Wis.
Birth: Chippewa Falls, Wis.
G.O. No.: 17, 11 February 1946.
Citation:
He was an assistant squad leader in an attack against strongly defended enemy positions on both sides of a stream running through a wooded gulch. As the squad advanced through concentrated fire, the leader was killed and Sgt. Mower assumed command. In order to bring direct fire upon the enemy, he had started to lead his men across the stream, which by this time was churned by machinegun and rifle fire, but he was severely wounded before reaching the opposite bank. After signaling his unit to halt, he realized his own exposed position was the most advantageous point from which to direct the attack, and stood fast. Half submerged, gravely wounded, but refusing to seek shelter or accept aid of any kind, he continued to shout and signal to his squad as he directed it in the destruction of 2 enemy machineguns and numerous riflemen. Discovering that the intrepid man in the stream was largely responsible for the successful action being taken against them, the remaining Japanese concentrated the full force of their firepower upon him, and he was killed while still urging his men on. Sgt. Mower’s gallant initiative and heroic determination aided materially in the successful completion of his squad’s mission. His magnificent leadership was an inspiration to those with whom he served
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