He was born in Tichner (Arkansas County) in 1924 and graduated from Stuttgart High School. He attended Henderson State Teachers College in Arkadelphia but left in 1943 to join the Army.
In World War II he served with distinction in Italy, rising to the rank of sergeant. After the war, he returned to Henderson and graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate.
Within months he was dispatched to Korea where, in one action, he killed more than 100 enemy combatants and destroyed two mortar emplacements and three machine gun nests. His heroic actions earned him a promotion to lieutenant and the Medal of Honor. By the end of the war, he had as many medals as Alvin York in World War I and Audie Murphy in WWII.
Later as a colonel in Vietnam, he was severely injured. He was a one-of-a-kind three-war hero.
His collection of honors includes the Distinguished Service Cross, three Bronze Stars, five Purple Hearts, United Nations Korea Medal, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross and the Medal of Honor. The ROTC program at Henderson State University is named in his honor. When this exceptional soldier died he was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Who was this Arkansas war hero who, despite an amazing military career, is little known to the American public?
See NOTABLE ARKANSANS--Answer
Style on 10/27/2019