Richard David De Wert (November 17, 1931 – April 5, 1951) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

hospital corpsman who was killed in action during 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 ...

while serving with a

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

rifle company. He was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military decoration for valor, 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" on April 5, 1951, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Biography

Richard De Wert was born on November 17, 1931, in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in and the county seat of Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River, which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. As of the 2020 United States ...

. De Wert enlisted in the

in December 1948. Following

recruit training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which Resocialization, resocializes its subjects for ...

and Hospital Corps training at

Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenan ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he was assigned to the Naval Hospital at

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, during 1949–1950. In July 1950, he joined the

Fleet Marine Force The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general and special forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine ...

and soon sailed for the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

to take part in the

. Landing with the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

at Inchon in September 1950, Hospitalman De Wert participated in operations to liberate the city of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. During the rest of 1950, he was involved in the landing at Wonsan, the Chosin Reservoir Campaign and the

Hungnam evacuation The Hungnam evacuation or Heungnam redeployment (), also known as the Miracle of Christmas, was the evacuation of United Nations Command, United Nations (UN) forces and North Korean civilians from the port of Hungnam, Hamhung, North Korea, betwee ...

. In 1951, De Wert served with the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

in anti-guerilla operations and as they helped drive the enemy beyond the 38th Parallel. On April 5, 1951, while with the

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7) is a light infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 marines and sailors. The battali ...

during an attack on

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA), officially the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV), was the armed expeditionary forces China in the Korean War, deployed by the History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976), People's Republic of Chi ...

forces during

Operation Rugged Operation Rugged was a military operation performed by the United Nations Command (UN) during the Korean War designed to advance the UN lines to positions north of the 38th Parallel designated the ''Kansas Line''. The operation would be the fir ...

, De Wert persistently, and in spite of his own wounds, moved through fire-swept ground to aid fallen Marines. He was killed in action while administering first aid to an injured comrade.

Namesake

The

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

was named in honor of Hospitalman De Wert. A clinic in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, was named after DeWert on September 17, 2004. The clinic at the Marine Cold Weather Base in

Bridgeport, California Bridgeport is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It is the county seat of Mono County. The population was 553 at the 2020 census. The first post office at Bridgeport opened i ...

, was named for DeWert in October 2004. A scholarship fund at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

has been named for DeWert. Dewert Ave in Taunton, MA is named in his honor.

Military awards

De Wert's military awards and decorations include: A display of the Medal of Honor and more information about Richard DeWert is on display at the Old Colony Historical Society, in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Medal of Honor citation

References

External links