Medal of Honor: Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. – Korean War – November 5, 1950
Under the freezing night sky near Chonghyon, Korea, one soldier stood his ground as the enemy poured over the ridge. Wounded and alone, Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. wrapped one arm around a tree and kept firing — until his last breath.
November 5, 2025
Name: Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.
Rank: Corporal
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company E, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Near Chonghyon, Korea – 5 November 1950
Entered Service At: Merrilan, Wisconsin
Born: July 2, 1924 – Hatfield, Wisconsin
Departed: Killed in Action, November 5, 1950
Accredited to: Wisconsin
Summary of Action
In the dark hours before dawn, the silence near Chonghyon was shattered as waves of Chinese Communist troops charged through the brush, less than a hundred feet from the American line. Standing watch at the forward ridge, Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was the first to see them coming — and the first to fire.
With his automatic rifle spitting defiance, Red Cloud cut down the leading attackers and shouted the alarm to his company, buying precious seconds for his comrades to prepare. Enemy bullets tore into him, but he refused to fall back. Propping himself against a tree, he wrapped one arm around the trunk for support and kept firing, pouring out deadly fire until the last of his strength was gone.
By the time his gun fell silent, Red Cloud had single-handedly stopped the enemy from overrunning his company’s position. His sacrifice gave his fellow soldiers the time to regroup, evacuate the wounded, and hold the line.
Medal of Honor Citation
Place and date: Near Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950.
Entered service at: Merrilan, Wis.
Born: 2 July 1924, Hatfield, Wis.
G.O. No.: 26, 25 April 1951.
Citation:
Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up he delivered devastating pointblank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance he pulled himself to his feet and wrapping his arm around a tree continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company’s position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud’s dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army.
