American War Heroes: Lest We Forget

By David Dawson

This book is a tribute to America's war heroes as represented by those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor.  A small sample of the 3500+ recipients and their inspirational stories are highlighted.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Adams
• Release date: Nov 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540165503

Book preview

Lest We Forget

David Dawson

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Copyright © 2016 by David Dawson. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:  Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

Chapter 2:  Lt. Col. Addison Earl Baker

Chapter 3:  Corporal Alvin Cullum York

Chapter 4:  Sergeant Frederick William Mausert, III

Chapter 5:  Major Bernard Francis Fisher

Chapter 6: Sergeant William Harvey Carney

Chapter 7:  Lieutenant Frank Dwight Baldwin

Chapter 8: Major Kenneth Dillon Bailey

Chapter 9: Lieutenant Richmond Pearson Hobson

Chapter 10: Lieutenant Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

Chapter 11: Major Charles S. Kettles

Chapter 12: Chief Edward Carl Byers Jr.

Chapter 13: Private First Class Harold Gonsalves

Chapter 14: Sergeant Paul Ray Smith

Chapter 15: Chief Petty Officer John William Finn

Chapter 16: Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon

Chapter 17: Lieutenant Vernon Joseph Baker

Chapter 18: Sergeant Fred William Stockham

Chapter 19: Major Smedley Darlington Butler

Chapter 20: Sergeant Gino Joseph Merli

Chapter 21: Captain Emil Joseph Kapaun

Chapter 22: Sergeant Darrell Samuel Cole

Chapter 23: Captain Francis Brown Wai

Chapter 24: Private Jesse Nathaniel Funk

Chapter 25: Tomb of the Unknowns

About The Author

One Last Thing

References

Introduction

The highest medal that can be awarded a member of the United States Armed Forces is the Medal of Honor.  As pictured below, each branch of service has its own version of the medal.  The first medal shown is the Army version.  Second is the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines version.  The Air Force version is shown last.

Image result for medal of honor

The criteria for being awarded the Medal of Honor have evolved since its inception in 1862.  The simplified version basically involves being a member of the Armed Forces and going beyond the call of duty and risking one’s life in a combat situation.  Wikipedia has an excellent presentation about the Medal of Honor.  The URL for the webpage is in the references list.

This book identifies a very small sampling of the more than 3500 recipients of the medal; and the 3500+ recipients are but a small sampling of the numerous other brave men and women in our armed forces who have committed acts of heroism throughout our history. 

The purpose of this book is to keep alive the memory of those heroes. 

Chapter 1:  Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

Civil War

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Citation

Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D.C., October 1861; Chattanooga, Tenn., following Battle of Chickomauga, September 1863; Prisoner of War, April 10, 1864-August 12, 1864, Richmond, Va.; Battle of Atlanta, September 1864 Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, has rendered valuable service to the Government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways, and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, Ky., upon the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon; and Whereas by reason of her not being a commissioned officer in the military service, a brevet or honorary rank cannot, under existing laws, be conferred upon her; and Whereas in the opinion of the President an honorable recognition of her services and sufferings should be made: It is ordered, That a testimonial thereof shall be hereby made and given to the said Dr. Mary E. Walker, and that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her. Given under my hand in the city of Washington, D.C., this 11th day of November, A.D. 1865. Andrew Johnson, President (Medal rescinded 1917 along with 910 others, restored by President Carter 10 June 1977.)

Doctor Mary Edwards Walker was born on November 26, 1832, in Oswego, New York.  She was the youngest of seven children in the Walker family. 

Though her parents—Alvah (father) and Vesta (mother)—were Christians, Mary was not raised in a traditional Christian environment.  The different roles of men and women were deemphasized by her parents, and her mother often took part in strenuous labor on their farm.  This led her to reject traditional women’s attire in favor of more masculine clothing which was less restrictive.  She later strongly championed arguments against corsets, long dresses, and other women’s garments which she felt were restrictive and unhealthy.

Mary’s parents were strong advocates of education and actually started a free elementary school in Oswego.  Mary later went on to attend Falley Seminary in Fulton, New York.  Falley was a very progressive institution that served to reinforce her defiance of traditional feminine roles.

Early in her life Mary developed an interest in medicine.  She worked as a teacher and earned enough money to pay her own way through Syracuse Medical College where she graduated as a medical doctor in 1855.  She graduated with honors and was the only woman in her class.

In November 1855 she married Albert Miller, a medical school classmate.  She wore her usual short skirt with trousers underneath, refused to include obey in her vows, and kept her last name.  The newlywed doctors opened a medical practice together but it was unsuccessful.  She and Albert later divorced.

When the Civil War started in 1861, Mary moved to Washington, DC, and worked as a volunteer for the Army.  She was unable to find a paying position in Washington, so she went to the front lines, where she knew her services would be needed. She worked in a volunteer capacity at Warrenton, VA, and later at Fredericksburg, VA.

In early 1864, Walker was named a Civilian Contract Surgeon and assigned to the 52nd Ohio Volunteers.  Her responsibilities included caring for the surrounding civilian population. Walker went wherever she was needed, even crossing the front lines into Confederate territory. On these occasions, she would leave her three assistants and her two pistols behind in an effort to convince the Confederates that she had entered their territory in peace and intended no harm. 

On April 10, 1864, shortly after assisting a Confederate surgeon with an amputation, she was spotted by a Confederate sentry and captured.  Charged with being a spy, she was imprisoned in Richmond, VA, at a military prison named Castle Thunder. The prison was overcrowded and dirty, and the food was often spoiled. While she was imprisoned, she refused to wear the clothes provided for her, which were said to be more becoming of her sex. Walker was exchanged for a Confederate surgeon from Tennessee on August 12, 1864.

On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill awarding Mary E. Walker the Congressional Medal of Honor.

In 1917, the Army decided to review eligibility for inclusion on the Army Medal of Honor Roll. They deleted 911 recipients from the roll, including Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. The disenrolled recipients were not ordered to return their medals, and Walker continued to wear hers until her death.

President Jimmy Carter restored her medal posthumously in 1977.  She is one of six people to regain the award.

After the war, Walker was awarded a disability pension for partial muscular atrophy suffered while she was imprisoned by the enemy.  She also developed eye problems as a result of her imprisonment which prevented her from practicing medicine sometime later.

Walker became a writer and lecturer in support of health care, temperance, women's rights, and dress reform for women. She was often arrested for impersonating a man by wearing men's clothing.  She nevertheless insisted on her right to wear clothing that she thought appropriate. She wrote two books that discussed women's rights and dress.  When criticized about her attire, she would reply: I don't wear men's clothes, I wear my own clothes.

Walker strongly supported women’s suffrage and felt that the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote.  She even tried to register to vote but was turned away.  Others within the movement felt that a constitutional amendment was needed.  She testified on women's suffrage before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1912 and 1914.

Walker died in her home on February 21, 1919, at the age of eighty-seven. She was buried at Rural Cemetery in Oswego, New York, with an American flag draped over her casket. She was wearing a black suit instead of a dress.  She died one year before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote.

As of this writing, Doctor Mary Edward Walker remains the only woman to have been awarded United States Congressional Medal of Honor.

Most of this chapter was excerpted from the Wikipedia webpage about Dr. Mary Walker.  An URL to the site can be found in the references list.

Chapter 2:  Lt. Col. Addison Earl Baker

WWII

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