Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr.
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Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (2 July 1925 – 5 November 1950) was a United States Army corporal who was killed in action while serving in the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
Red Cloud
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" near Chonghyon,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
, on 5 November 1950 during the Chinese First Phase Campaign. Before joining the army, he had been a
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
sergeant who had served in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Born in
Hatfield, Wisconsin Hatfield is an unincorporated census-designated place, in the town of Komensky, Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 141. Geography Hatfield has an area of , all of it land. It is located on the s ...
, Red Cloud, a
Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...
Native American, dropped out of high school to enlist in the Marine Corps during World War II. He first served in combat with the
Marine Raiders The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry warfare. Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve ...
during the
Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...
in 1942 before health problems forced him stateside in 1943 to recover. Red Cloud avoided a medical discharge, and served with the
6th Marine Division The 6th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps World War II infantry division formed in September 1944. During the invasion of Okinawa it saw combat at Yae-Take and Sugar Loaf Hill and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. Th ...
during the
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
in 1945. Red Cloud enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948. After the Korean War began in June 1950, he was sent to Korea with the 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, which was among the American troops who fought the first battles of the war, being pushed back during the
Battle of Taejon The Battle of Taejon (16–20 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between U.S. and North Korean forces. Forces of the United States Army attempted to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division (United States), 24th Infa ...
and the
Battle of Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter, known in Korean as the Battle of the Naktong River Defense Line (), was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one ...
. The 19th Infantry also was part of the
Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which commands all United States Army forces in South Korea. It is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys in the Anjeong-ri of Pyeongtaek, Pyeongtaek, South Korea.advance into North Korea. On the night of 5 November 1950, Red Cloud was manning a forward observation post when he spotted an imminent surprise attack by
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
forces. Red Cloud single-handedly held off the Chinese forces despite being shot eight times, at one point ordering his men to tie him to a tree because he was too weak to stand by himself. His company found him the next morning, surrounded by dead Chinese troops. He was credited with alerting his company to the ambush and saving them from being overrun. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.


Early life

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was born on 2 July 1925 in
Hatfield, Wisconsin Hatfield is an unincorporated census-designated place, in the town of Komensky, Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 141. Geography Hatfield has an area of , all of it land. It is located on the s ...
. He was the eldest son of Mitchell Red Cloud and Lillian Red Cloud. The family were ethnic members of the
Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...
Native American tribe. Red Cloud attended Neillsville High School in
Neillsville, Wisconsin Neillsville is a city and county seat of Clark County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,384 at the 2020 census. History The Ojibwa were the earliest known residents of the Neillsville area. The first settlers of European descent ...
. The school taught primarily Native American students, a large portion of whom joined the military after finishing school. At age 16, Red Cloud dropped out of high school and, with his father's approval, decided to enlist in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
.


Military service


U.S. Marine Corps

He entered the Marine Corps on 11 August 1941, the earliest date on which he was legally allowed to enlist. The family may have relocated to Merrillan, Wisconsin, which was where Red Cloud enlisted. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines at Camp Elliot, California. With
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
looming, Red Cloud volunteered for and was accepted on April 14, 1942, by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, also known as "Carlson's Raiders", under the command of US Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson. He was placed in Weapons Platoon, F Company of the battalion. As an Special Forces, elite Marine light infantry unit, the Raiders held high standards of physical and mental fitness, and was known to perform very well with this unit. His only major deployment with the Raiders was the
Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...
. Red Cloud landed with his company off of the USS McKean (DD-90) at Aola Bay on Guadalcanal, on 4 November 1942. On 6 November, the 2nd Raider Battalion went into the jungle to begin Carlson's Patrol, "The Long Patrol" for the next 28 days. Their mission was to silence Japanese artillery firing on Henderson Field (Guadalcanal), Henderson Field. They would also conduct a number of mopping up operations to assist in the clearance of the island and to cut off troops from the Empire of Japan who had been attempting to escape. Red Cloud's time on Guadalcanal was plagued by several bouts of tropical disease, and he left the island on 4 December 1942 for medical treatment. The patrol also caused him to lose 75 pounds. During his time overseas, Red Cloud contracted diseases frequently, and he was returned to the United States in February 1943 to recuperate. The navy doctors in San Diego that examined Red Cloud offered him a Military discharge, medical discharge, but Red Cloud refused. Instead, he recovered from illness and requested reassignment to a combat unit. This request was granted, with Red Cloud subsequently assigned to Weapons Platoon, A Company, 29th Marine Regiment,
6th Marine Division The 6th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps World War II infantry division formed in September 1944. During the invasion of Okinawa it saw combat at Yae-Take and Sugar Loaf Hill and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. Th ...
, which participated in the invasion of Okinawa Island, Okinawa on 1 April 1945. On 17 May, he was shot in the shoulder and evacuated to Guam. In the ensuing
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
, his unit saw intense fighting in the campaign to secure the island. After several months of fighting, the unit was withdrawn to Guam to prepare for Operation Downfall#Coronet, Operation Coronet, the second phase of the anticipated invasion of mainland Japan. However, these plans were scrapped following the surrender of Japan. Red Cloud was honorably discharged as a sergeant from the Marine Corps on 9 November 1945 during the demobilization that followed the war.


Inter-service years

In December 1945, Red Cloud published an article in the ''Wisconsin Archaeologist'', an account from his tribe's traditional stories about the 1832 surrender of Sauk people, Sauk leader Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk to US authorities after the short Black Hawk War. In the article, he expressed support for historical theories that Black Hawk had voluntarily surrendered. He also assisted anthropologist Nancy Lurie, informing her studies of how childcare customs among Native Americans were changing over time. In the inter-service years, Red Cloud married and had a daughter, Annita.


U.S. Army

Red Cloud decided to return to the military in 1948. He enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to E Company, 2nd Battalion, US 19th Infantry Regiment, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. The regiment was part of the Occupation of Japan, and Red Cloud was assigned to Kyushu. During this time, training opportunities were limited, many of the troops were inexperienced and their equipment was of low quality due to budget cuts. On joining the army, Red Cloud was not permitted to retain his sergeant rank from the Marine Corps. With the outbreak of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
on 25 June 1950, the 24th Infantry Division was the closest unit to the Korean Peninsula, and in July, Red Cloud's company was among the first units into the country. The division was heavily engaged throughout July by
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
n troops as it attempted to stem their invasion of South Korea, and the 19th Infantry saw action in the
Battle of Taejon The Battle of Taejon (16–20 July 1950) was an early battle of the Korean War, between U.S. and North Korean forces. Forces of the United States Army attempted to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division (United States), 24th Infa ...
, fighting at the Kum River (Korea), Kum River before being forced out of Taejon. The unit subsequently moved back to the Naktong River, and was involved in the subsequent Pusan Perimeter campaign during August and September 1950. During the First Battle of Naktong Bulge, the 19th Infantry was moved up from reserve positions in to combat the NK 4th Division, which was attempting to break through their lines. Having been badly mauled in these fights, the division was moved into reserve along the Pusan Perimeter on 23 September. It was replaced by units of the 2nd Infantry Division (United States), 2nd Infantry Division. In the subsequent Great Naktong Offensive, the 19th Infantry served as a reserve force to help units under attack in the Second Battle of Naktong Bulge. The 19th Infantry would later participate in the Battle of Kyongju, assisting troops of the Republic of Korea Army to help push back North Korean troops from the Kyongju area. During these battles, Red Cloud's experience as a combat veteran made him a valued member of his unit for leading the less experienced troops. Following the Battle of Inchon and subsequent Second Battle of Seoul, the North Korean Army was largely defeated, and the 19th Infantry was one of the units of the
Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which commands all United States Army forces in South Korea. It is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys in the Anjeong-ri of Pyeongtaek, Pyeongtaek, South Korea.


Medal of Honor action

On the night of 5 November, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th infantry was holding positions on Hill 123, near Chonghyon, just north of the river. Red Cloud, then a corporal, was manning a forward listening post in front of his company's command post position on the hill. In the middle of the night, he began hearing suspicious noises, before spotting a number of Chinese troops intent on surprising the Americans. Red Cloud raised an alarm and began firing on the advancing Chinese troops with an M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). The assistant BAR man with him in their Foxhole (military), foxhole was killed by the Chinese returning fire. Red Cloud was then shot twice in the chest. In spite of these wounds and after being attended to by a company platoon medic, he refused to withdraw from his post, and continued to fire accurately on the Chinese troops which caused significant casualties among their advancing force.HISTORYNET
/ref> Crucially, his actions alerted his company to the impending attack, preventing an ambush. After he was hit again and attended to by the same medic, Red Cloud propped himself against a tree and continued to fire, exposing himself to intense Chinese fire. He was shot at least eight times in the firefight. Suffering from severe injuries and too weak to support himself, he ordered a soldier near him, to tie him upright to the tree using the soldier's web belt, and then ordered these men to withdraw with the other wounded men to the main positions. Eventually, the Chinese overran Red Cloud's position and the hill. Red Cloud's actions gave E Company time and warning to blunt the Chinese offensive, eventually repelling the attack. His actions are also credited with allowing his company to evacuate several others wounded in the attack. When members of the 2nd Battalion returned to the hill and arrived at Red Cloud's position to recover his body the next morning, they found it was surrounded by a large number of dead Chinese troops.


Burial and honors

Red Cloud was initially buried at a UN cemetery in Korea. However, in 1955, his body was exhumed and moved to Wisconsin, where he was buried in accordance with Ho-Chunk tribal customs. He was interred at the Decorah Cemetery at Winnebago Mission, Wisconsin. In April 1951, Red Cloud's mother received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
from General of the Army Omar Bradley in a ceremony at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C. On Armed Forces Day, 18 May 1957, the United States Army named Camp Red Cloud in South Korea after him, in recognition of his actions. ''Red Cloud Range'' on Fort Benning, Georgia, was also named for Red Cloud. A park in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was dedicated in Red Cloud's honor. A memorial park was dedicated in his memory, the Red Cloud Highway Memorial Park adjacent to the Black Hawk Powwow Grounds in Komensky, Wisconsin. A portion of Wisconsin Highway 54 was renamed Red Cloud Highway. The American Legion post in Adams, Wisconsin, was renamed for him. The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, Ho-Chunk Nation observes Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. Day on each Independence Day (United States), 4th of July. In 1967, a monument was erected for him in the cemetery. Another plaque honoring Red Cloud was subsequently erected in Black River Falls. In 1999, the United States Navy named the newly commissioned , a Watson class vehicle cargo ship, ''Watson''-class vehicle cargo ship and Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off ship, in his honor. The ship was Ship naming and launching, christened by his daughter Annita, who was dressed in traditional regalia. It was attended by several men who served alongside her father as well as several flag officers. Fort Novosel dedicated a road to Red Cloud on the Post. Red Cloud Road, it depicts a sign with a brief writeup of his Medal of honor citation.


Documentary

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. is one of the featured Korean War heroes honored in the 2013 documentary "Finnigan's War" directed by Conor Timmis. Actor Mark Hamill narrates Red Cloud's Medal of Honor citation in the film.


Military awards

Red Cloud's military awards and decorations include:


Medal of Honor citation

Red Cloud's official Medal of Honor citation reads: Rank and organization: Corporal, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
Place and date: Near Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950
Entered service at: Merrillan, Wisconsin General Orders No. 26, 25 April 1951 /S/ Harry S. Truman


See also

*List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients *Red Cloud


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

: * * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Red Cloud, Mitchell 1925 births 1950 deaths People from Jackson County, Wisconsin United States Marines Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers American military personnel killed in the Korean War Native American United States military personnel Ho-Chunk people Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army personnel of the Korean War 20th-century Native American people Native American people from Wisconsin