Medal of Honor: Kaho'ohanohano

Note that this soldier killed 13 enemies in melee, wielding an entrenching shovel...

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS ANTHONY T. KAHO'OHANOHANO
UNITED STATES ARMY

CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Private First Class Anthony T. KAHO'OHANOHANO, Company H, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above the call of duty in action against the enemy in the vicinity of Chupa-ri, Korea, on 1 September 1951. On that date, Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO was in charge of a machine-gun squad supporting the defensive positioning of Company F when a numerically superior enemy force launched a fierce attack. Because of the enemy's overwhelming numbers, friendly troops were forced to execute a limited withdrawal. As the men fell back, Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO ordered his squad to take up more defensible positions and provide covering fire for the withdrawing friendly force. Although having been wounded in the shoulder during the initial enemy assault, Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO gathered a supply of grenades and ammunition and returned to his original position to face the enemy alone. As the hostile troops concentrated their strength against his emplacement in an effort to overrun it, Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO fought fiercely and courageously, delivering deadly accurate fire into the ranks of the onrushing enemy. When his ammunition was depleted, he engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat until he was killed. Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO's heroic stand so inspired his comrades that they launched a counterattack that completely repulsed the enemy. Upon reaching Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO's emplacement, friendly troops discovered 11 enemy soldiers lying dead in front of the emplacement and two inside it, killed in hand-to-hand combat. Private First Class KAHO'OHANOHANO's extraordinary heroism and selfless devotion to duty are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the 7th Infantry Division, and the United States Army. 

Alvin York

Everyone has heard of Sergeant York, but it is good to be reminded.

On this day in 1918, the 328th Infantry engaged German forces near Chatel-Chehery, France. As York recalled:

The Germans got us, and they got us right smart. They just stopped us dead in our tracks. Their machine guns were up there on the heights overlooking us and well hidden, and we couldn't tell for certain where the terrible heavy fire was coming from... And I'm telling you they were shooting straight. Our boys just went down like the long grass before the mowing machine at home...

Seventeen men, including York, were ordered to infiltrate and take out the machine guns. The patrol had captured a group of the enemy, when they came under fire from German guns; of the seventeen, six were killed and three wounded. York, the ranking NCO, left his men under cover, guarding the prisoners, while he advanced and engaged the guns. His Medal of Honor citation reads:

After his platoon suffered heavy casualties and 3 other noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a machine gun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his platoon. In this heroic feat the machine gun nest was taken, together with 4 officers and 128 men and several guns.

Battle of Montgisard

Broke out GMT Games' Infidel, which I've had for a while, and put counters on the board for the Montgisard scenario. Historically, in 1177, a tiny Crusader force under the sixteen-year-old King of Jerusalem, Baldwin the Leper, came across a much larger invading Saracen force under Saladin. The Saracens were tired from marching and unprepared for battle. Although outnumbered by something like 6 to 1, the Crusaders merely paused for a quick prayer, then attacked. With the King leading the attack personally, they broke through the whole Saracen army, destroying 90% of it and nearly catching Saladin himself. The game AAR went pretty much the same way.

Simo Hayha

Hayha was a short little guy--5'3" tall.
He was also the sniper with the highest number of confirmed kills in any major war. And he accomplished that in about three months, during the Russo-Finnish Winter War in 1939-1940. Using iron sights rather than a scope.

For the Fallen

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

 They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

 --For the Fallen, Laurence Binyon

Lest we forget.

Ben Carlin

In 1947, Major Ben Carlin, originally of Northam, Western Australia  set out to travel around the world.

In an amphibious jeep.

He and his wife started in Montreal and took four years and several attempts to cross the Atlantic; after that, his wife called it quits, but he pressed on. Including several delays and side trips for fundraising tours, he finally finished the 40,000 mile journey in 1958.

Adrian Carton de Wiart

I was looking through a list of notable Victorian generals, which mentioned the usual--John Nicholson, Garnet Wolseley, James Hope Grant, etc--plus one I'd never heard of before: Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, VC. Fought in the Boer War and both World Wars; wounded seven times, survived a plane crash, tunneled out of a POW camp, and so forth and so on.

In his memoirs he wrote, "Governments may think and say as they like, but force cannot be eliminated, and it is the only real and unanswerable power. We are told that the pen is mightier than the sword, but I know which of these weapons I would choose."

D Day

In 1944 on this day, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50 mile stretch of German-occupied France.

In 1918, the United States Marine Corps took its heaviest day of casualties, in the Battle of Belleau Woods.

And in 1984, Tetris was released.

Garnet Wolseley

Field Marshal Sir Garnet Wolseley was "the very model of a modern major general"--the line in HMS Pinafore was a reference to him, and the phrase "all Sir Garnet" meant "everything in proper order". He was commissioned in 1852 and served in:

• Second Burmese War
• Crimean War
• Indian Mutiny
• Second Opium War
• Red River Rebellion
• Third Ashanti War
• Zulu War
• Egyptian War
• Mahdist War

He was noted for careful preparation, followed by quick and successful campaigns.

St Crispin's Day

October 25th is St Crispin's Day, best known for the Battle of Agincourt although the Battle of Balaclava--known for the stand of the Thin Red Line and the Charge of the Light Brigade--was also on this day. The St Crispan's speech from Henry V :

This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,

And rouse him at the name of Crispian.

He that shall live this day, and see old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors,

And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,

And say, "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he'll remember with advantages

What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,

Familiar in his mouth as household words,

Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,

Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,

Be in their flowing cups freshly remembered.

This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered-

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon St Crispin's Day.

Robert Gutierrez Jr

"I've seen those types of injuries before and time isn't your friend," said Staff Sgt. Robert Gutierrez Jr. "I thought, I have three minutes before I'm going to die. I've got to do something big. Based on that time frame, I'm going to change the world in three minutes."

With a softball size hole in his back, broken ribs and shoulder, a collapsing lung, and losing five pints of blood, Gutierrez stayed on the radio, calling in close air support. His actions are credited with saving the lives of his team. He survived, and is being awarded the Air Force Cross for "extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy."

Lloyd Allan Trigg

Lloyd Trigg has the distinction of receiving the only Victoria Cross to be awarded because of a recommendation from the enemy.
The citation reads:

2nd November, 1943

THE KING  has been graciously pleased to confer the VICTORIA CROSS on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery:

Flying Officer Lloyd Allan TRIGG, D.F.C. (N.Z.413515), Royal New Zealand Air Force (missing, believed killed), No. 200 Squadron.

Flying Officer Trigg had rendered outstanding service on convoy escort and antisubmarine duties. He had completed 46 operational sorties and had invariably displayed skill and courage of a very high order.

One day in August 1943, Flying Officer Trigg undertook, as captain and pilot, a patrol in a Liberator although he had not previously made any operational sorties in that type of aircraft. After searching for 8 hours a surfaced U-boat was sighted.

Flying Officer Trigg immediately prepared to attack. During the approach, the aircraft received many hits from the submarine's anti-aircraft guns and burst into flames, which quickly enveloped the tail.

The moment was critical. Flying Officer Trigg could have broken off the engagement and made a forced landing in the sea. But if he continued the attack, the aircraft would present a "no deflection" target to deadly accurate anti-aircraft fire, and every second spent in the air would increase the extent and intensity of the flames and diminish his chances of survival.

There could have been no hesitation or doubt in his mind. He maintained his course in spite of the already precarious condition of his aircraft and executed a masterly attack. Skimming over the U-boat at less than 50 feet with anti-aircraft fire entering his opened bomb doors, Flying Officer Trigg dropped his bombs on and around the U-boat where they exploded with devastating effect. A short distance further on the Liberator dived into the sea with her gallant captain and crew.

The U-boat sank within 20 minutes and some of her crew were picked up later in a rubber dinghy that had broken loose from the Liberator.

The Battle of the Atlantic has yielded many fine stories of air attacks on underwater craft, but Flying Officer Trigg's exploit stands out as an epic of grim determination and high courage. His was the path of duty that leads to glory.

The U boat captain survived, along with six of his crew; it was on his recommendation that Trigg received the Victoria Cross.

Chevalier de Bayard

Pierre Terrail, lord of Bayard (1473-1524) was a champion of France during the Italian Wars. He impressed pretty much everyone who ever met him, and earned the epithet le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche (the knight without fear and without reproach). One of his exploits was holding a town which was considered indefensible, with a force of 1000 men against a besieging force of 35,000; after six weeks, the attackers gave up.

Don Alejo Garza Tamez

From The New American:

On Saturday, November 13, [2010] a group of toughs arrived at Don Alejo’s ranch about 10 miles outside of Ciudad Victoria, the capital city of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Victoria, as it is now called, is about 100 miles due south of Laredo, Texas, and about 80 miles southwest of Brownsville. The ranch sits on a pretty lake where Don Alejo had lived most of his life. He was informed that he had 24 hours to vacate the premises. He responded simply that he would be waiting for them.... 

At 4 a.m. Sunday morning, several motor vehicles pulled up in front of Don Alejo’s home, with the thugs announcing their arrival by firing rounds from their weapons into the air. What happened next caught them totally by surprise...Don Alejo began picking off one after another of the attackers. 

Don Alejo was killed in the attack, but he fell with weapons in both hands; and he took six of the gang members with him. He was 77 years old.


hat tip: Badass of the Week

Gurkha

"On 12/13 May 1945 at Taungdaw, Burma, Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung [age 27, serving with the 8th Gurkha Rifles] was manning the most forward post of his platoon which bore the brunt of an attack by at least 200 of the Japanese enemy. Twice he hurled back grenades which had fallen on his trench, but the third exploded in his right hand, blowing off his fingers, shattering his arm and severely wounding him in the face, body and right leg. His two comrades were also badly wounded but the rifleman, now alone and disregarding his wounds, loaded and fired his [bolt action] rifle with his left hand for four hours, calmly waiting for each attack which he met with fire at point blank range. Afterwards, when the casualties were counted, it is reported that there were 31 dead Japanese around his position which he had killed, with only one arm.


Lachhiman Gurung received his Victoria Cross from the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell on 19 December 1945."

Battle of Gibraltar

At the Battle of Gibraltar, on April 25, 1697--a century before Aboukir Bay--a Dutch fleet surprised a Spanish fleet at anchor, doubled their line, and destroyed it. The Spanish didn't save a single ship. Nelson is famous for capturing or destroying 11 of 13 French ships at Aboukir Bay; nobody has heard van Heemskirk.

Neda Agha-Soltan

Remember the Iranian girl who was killed in the protests stemming from the government-rigged elections? It happened one year ago today.

Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was commander of the German East African colonial forces in World War I, waging a successful guerrilla campaign against British forces in Uganda, Kenya and Rhodesia. He was successful in his first battle, the defense of Tanga against a British amphibious invasion, even though his forces were outnumbered eight to one; and he continued, outnumbered and living off what he could capture, but nonetheless undefeated through the end of the war.