Evening star., 1951-01-09

by President Truman today to the
widows, wives or parents of five
soldiers, ranking from private to
major general, who could not be
here from Korea to receive the
Nations highest military decora-
ton.
Some of the men died and
others were listed as missing in
action in Korea. The President,
at a ceremony in his news confer
ence room in the Executive Office
Building, voiced the country's S
gratitude as he presented tie
medals on the blue, star -fecked
ribbon bearing the single word
"valor."
II want to pay tribute at this
time" MI. Truman said. Ito the
ground soldiers. They are not the
glamour boys of the services but
they are the men who win the
wars and make it possible for us
to have freedom in this great
land of ours"
Shakes Hands with Wounded Man.
He offered a warm handshake
and personal words of consolation
to each of the persons who ac-
cepted the medals for their loved
ones. The President also stepped
over to shake hands with Sergt.
Christopher c. Henry. who lay
in a stretcher recovering from
wounds he suffered in Korea where
his brother, 1t. Frederick F..
Henry. showed bravery that
merited the Medal of Honor.
The presentation. President
Truman said. was a particularly
proud occasion for him. He eX-
planned that he would rather
wear the Medal of Honor than be
President. He also noted that no
other President has had occasion
to present that medal as often as
he has during the last six years.
The medals presented today
were for:
Pfc. Melvin L. Brown. of
Mahaffey, Pa; Maj. Gen. Will
liam F. Dean, of Berkeley,
Calf; M/Sergt. Travis E. Wat
kins, of Gladewater. Tex; 1st
1t. Frederick F. Henry, of Clinton,
Okla; and Sergt. 1st class Charles
w. Turner, of Boston.
Held Off Communists.
Pvt. Brown, 21, of Company D,
9th Engineer Combat Battalion, is
missing. Standing on top of a So
foot high inclosure near Kasan,
the walled city" of Korea, on
September 4. he held off savagely
attacking Communist soldiers so
his platoon could get into de-
fensive position to beat off the
attackers.
He was wounded and reported
missing.
Gen. Dean was commander of
the Oath. Infantry Division last
July when his outfit fought the
holding action at Taejon. When
murderous artillery fire and over
whelming numbers of the enemy
pushed the division out of burn
ing Taejon. he stayed with the
last units of the rearguard. He is
reported missing.
Besides directing action. he
| joined in it. He knocked out a
tank with a bazooka. In the
evacuation, he backpacked a
wounded man up a steep hill, then
went back to search for other
wounded. He didn't come back.
Texans HerOism.,
Sergt. Watkins served in Com
pany H, 9th Infantry Regiment
I'd Division, until enemy gunfire
cut him down on the morning OF
September 3 near Yongsan.
1t. Henry sacrificed himself
to cover the withdrawal of his
platoon a unit of Company F.
38th Infantry Regiment, near Am
Dong on September /. He was last
seen firing weapons he had OBJ
tained from the wounded.
Sergt. Turner was shot down
and killed as he stood on the tor
of a tank to fire and direct the
tanks fire against the enemy. II
happened on September / neal
Yongsan, when the I'd Recon.
naissance Company of the I'd In
fantry Division was attacked.
These men are the first to re-
ceive the Congressional Medal OF
Honor in the Korean war. In
World War II, 427 men received
the high decoration-253 Army