aricbcool
03-30-2006, 21:24
Ran across this in local news...
citation:http://history.amedd.army.mil/moh/bleakd.htm
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280351&SearchID=73240073343567
Idaho native who won the Medal of Honor dies at 74
David Bleak, an Idaho native who won a Medal of Honor in the Korean War, has died at 74 after a long illness.
Bleak died Thursday of complications from emphysema, Parkinson's disease, and diabetes, family members said. He had also recently broken his hip.
Born in Idaho Falls on February 27, 1932, Bleak grew up in a two-room house with nine siblings. He left home at 16 to work on a farm in nearby Perth, and at 18 enlisted in the Army.
He was singled out for medic training because he was tall and strong, said his son, Bruce Bleak of Moore.
"The medic has to be able to pack the wounded soldiers out, and he looked like a guy who was strong enough to do it," Bleak said. "They were right; it was a good call."
Two years after joining up, David Bleak was a sergeant in the medical company of the 223d Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division, near Minari-gol, Korea, when he volunteered to go with a reconnaissance patrol, U.S. Army records say.
"Forging up the rugged slope of the key terrain, the group was subjected to intense automatic weapons and small arms fire and suffered several casualties," the Army said on a Web site that describes Medal of Honor citations. The Army's description of his actions that day, June 14, 1952, said Bleak killed two of the enemy with his bare hands and a third with his trench knife, and then shielded a comrade from the impact of a grenade that had fallen near the man's helmet.
Bleak was shot, but despite his wound began to carry the wounded soldier, the Web site says. Attacked by two enemy soldiers with bayonets, "he grabbed them and smacked their heads together, then carried his helpless comrade down the hill to safety."
Wounded in the leg from the bullet, David Bleak returned to the U.S. soon after.
In 1953, President Eisenhower awarded him the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. He also was awarded a Purple Heart.
Bruce Bleak said his father never talked to his children about the war, but their mother and some of their father's fellow soldiers told them about the Medal of Honor and about his actions.
Bruce Bleak said his father was a humble man who felt others had acted just as courageously but hadn't been recognized for their deeds.
citation:http://history.amedd.army.mil/moh/bleakd.htm
http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280351&SearchID=73240073343567
Idaho native who won the Medal of Honor dies at 74
David Bleak, an Idaho native who won a Medal of Honor in the Korean War, has died at 74 after a long illness.
Bleak died Thursday of complications from emphysema, Parkinson's disease, and diabetes, family members said. He had also recently broken his hip.
Born in Idaho Falls on February 27, 1932, Bleak grew up in a two-room house with nine siblings. He left home at 16 to work on a farm in nearby Perth, and at 18 enlisted in the Army.
He was singled out for medic training because he was tall and strong, said his son, Bruce Bleak of Moore.
"The medic has to be able to pack the wounded soldiers out, and he looked like a guy who was strong enough to do it," Bleak said. "They were right; it was a good call."
Two years after joining up, David Bleak was a sergeant in the medical company of the 223d Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division, near Minari-gol, Korea, when he volunteered to go with a reconnaissance patrol, U.S. Army records say.
"Forging up the rugged slope of the key terrain, the group was subjected to intense automatic weapons and small arms fire and suffered several casualties," the Army said on a Web site that describes Medal of Honor citations. The Army's description of his actions that day, June 14, 1952, said Bleak killed two of the enemy with his bare hands and a third with his trench knife, and then shielded a comrade from the impact of a grenade that had fallen near the man's helmet.
Bleak was shot, but despite his wound began to carry the wounded soldier, the Web site says. Attacked by two enemy soldiers with bayonets, "he grabbed them and smacked their heads together, then carried his helpless comrade down the hill to safety."
Wounded in the leg from the bullet, David Bleak returned to the U.S. soon after.
In 1953, President Eisenhower awarded him the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. He also was awarded a Purple Heart.
Bruce Bleak said his father never talked to his children about the war, but their mother and some of their father's fellow soldiers told them about the Medal of Honor and about his actions.
Bruce Bleak said his father was a humble man who felt others had acted just as courageously but hadn't been recognized for their deeds.