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Veteran Affairs

2010-12-01 10:56:00

Medal of Honor recipients

Question: What can you tell me about the Medal of Honor?

Answer: I’ve been asked to make a speech; it seems like a lot of them since I retired from the United States Army. The army cured me of any fear of talking to large groups by assigning me as an ROTC instructor at WSU. I am a veteran and I think veterans are important. We need to honor veterans, but unfortunately at times we only honor them after the fact. No one ever wins any military medals; they are awarded for service to our country. In Wichita, we have many veterans laid to rest in local cemeteries. I am a member of the Medal of Honor Historical Society. I was not awarded the Medal of Honor, but I think it is important that we honor those individuals who were awarded the medal. One of the goals is to find and identify those burial sites for Medal of Honor Recipients. I was able to find one in the Maple Grove Cemetery on Hillside here in Wichita. This is the burial place of Captain Kirk, not the one on TV, but the real Captain Kirk. KIRK, JONATHAN C. Rank and organization: Captain, Company F, 20th Indiana Infantry. Place and date: At North Anna River, Va., 23 May 1864. He entered service at: Wilmington, Ohio. Birth: Clinton County, Ohio. Date of issue: 13 June 1894. Citation: Volunteered for dangerous service and single-handedly captured 13 armed Confederate soldiers and marched them to the rear. This doesn’t tell us much about the man; he answered his countries call to duty, was awarded at the time the only authorized medal by his country and didn’t get the medal until 1894. It probably came in the mail and was never presented to him formally. What usually happened was that it was recorded in military records and the veterans had to apply for the medal, before they could get it. Usually veteran’s organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic would apply on their behalf for the medals. A number of the medals were awarded but never issued, because the veterans never new about them. At the end of his life he was living in one of the small hotels in downtown Wichita, being cared for by his son. He was missing a leg due to a war time injury. After I found his burial place and with the assistance of Eric Cale, at the time the manager of the Maple Grove Cemetery, I was able to get a government Medal of Honor Marker for him. While we were having a dedication ceremony, I looked and saw another resting place for honored veteran. WRIGHT, SAMUEL Rank and organization: Corporal, Company H, 2d Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Nolensville, Tenn., 15 February 1863. Entered service at: Swan Lake, Minn. Birth: Indiana. Date of issue: 11 September 1897. Citation: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train. Samuel Wright was at one time postmaster of Wichita. I had not expected to find his grave in Wichita. At that time, government checks for disabled veterans were sent out quarterly. Samuel Wright’s checks were being sent to him at Tribune, KS. Samuel Wright was living with his children in Tribune at the time of his death. We were able to get a marker for him also. There are other Civil War Medal of Honor veterans buried in this area. One Joseph Wortick is buried at Leon, KS. His family didn’t know anything about his award. At one time the medal was thrown in the trash, since they thought they were old GAR medals. But one of his daughters pulled the medals out. The design of the medal had changed over the years and Joseph had received 3 different medals. Now they are treasured mementos for the family. There are two MOH recipients buried in separate cemeteries in Hutchinson, KS. We are working on getting them marked with Medal of Honor headstones, but they had to wait until the cannons and the Lincoln statue in the heart of town were redone. The appropriate Medal of Honor Marker has been placed on their graves. Wichita has one more Medal of Honor recipient buried in its cemeteries. Richard E. Cowan is a World War Two veteran. He was born in Nebraska, and moved to Wichita at an early age. He was drafted into the army during the war. COWAN, RICHARD ELLER Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company M, 23rd Infantry, and 2nd Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Krinkelter Wald, Belgium, December 17, 1944. Entered service at: Wichita, Kans. Birth: Lincoln, Nebr. G.O. No.: 48, 23 June 1945. Citation: He was a heavy machine gunner in a section attached to Company I in the vicinity of Krinkelter Wald, Belgium, December 17, 1944, when that company was attacked by a numerically superior force of German infantry and tanks. The first 6 waves of hostile infantrymen were repulsed with heavy casualties, but a seventh drive with tanks killed or wounded all but 3 of his section, leaving Pvt. Cowan to man his gun, supported by only 15 to 20 riflemen of Company I. He maintained his position, holding off the Germans until the rest of the shattered force had set up a new line along a firebreak. Then, unaided, he moved his machinegun and ammunition to the second position. At the approach of a Royal Tiger tank, he held his fire until about 80 enemy infantrymen supporting the tank appeared at a distance of about 150 yards. His first burst killed or wounded about half of these infantrymen. His position was rocked by an 88mm shell when the tank opened fire but he continued to man his gun, pouring deadly fire into the Germans when they again advanced. He was barely missed by another shell. Fire from three machineguns and innumerable small arms struck all about him; an enemy rocket shook him badly, but did not drive him from his gun. Infiltration by the enemy had by this time made the position untenable, and the order was given to withdraw. Pvt. Cowan was the last man to leave, voluntarily covering the withdrawal of his remaining comrades. His heroic actions were entirely responsible for allowing the remaining men to retire successfully from the scene of their last-ditch stand. He never knew of the award, the next day he was killed during battle. His family had his grave marked with a family stone indicating the award of the Medal of Honor in Wichita Park Cemetery off of North Hillside. As I had said, I was a member of the Medal of Honor Historical Society. I am looking for another grave. John A. Huntsman was born in Oskaloosa, Iowa moved to Kansas and joined the Kansas Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish American War, he was discharged and then joined the U.S. 36 Infantry Regiment. He served during the Philippine Insurrection and was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. HUNTSMAN, JOHN A. Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company E, 36th Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Bamban, Luzon, Philippine Islands, November 9, 1899. Entered service at: Lawrence, Kans. Birth: Oskaloosa County, Iowa. Date of issue: Unknown. Citation: For distinguished bravery and conspicuous gallantry in action against insurgents. His grave location is unknown. He may have been killed or died in the Philippines, but there are no military records of his death. He had family in Lawrence at one time and has a grand niece who lived in Wichita. What is my connection with the Medal of Honor? I was on recruiting duty at Ft. Des Moines Iowa in the 1960’s and was at Ft. Leavenworth Kansas and spent some time at the post library with a book about the Medal of Honor. I found my mother’s maiden name and a distant cousin: SWAP, JACOB E. Rank and organization: Private, Company H, 83d Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864. Entered service at: Springs, Pa. Birth: Calnehoose, N.Y. Date of issue: November 19, 1897. Citation: Although assigned to other duty, he voluntarily joined his regiment in a charge and fought with it until severely wounded. After a lot of searching, I was able to find his burial place, he is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Oakland, CA. Someday I’ll get there to see his grave. I have a great deal of respect for those who received the Medal of Honor, but a great deal of scorn for those who wear medals that they did not earn. I am happy to be here to help pay homage to these brave soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen and women who are being honored here.