![\"Medal](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Medal-of-Honor.jpg\" "\\"Medal")
\n\tLt. Darwin Kyle<\/strong><\/h2>\nDarwin Keith Kyle, or \u201cGus,\u201d as his family and friends called him, was born in 1921 in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia. Just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the US Army and was eventually sent to Europe. He received the Bronze and Silver Stars for heroic actions in France and Germany and in 1945 returned to South Charleston.<\/p>\n
In 1950, Kyle, now married and a proud father of two, was once again called upon to serve his country. The North Koreans had attacked across the 38th parallel, and he was soon on his way to a place few had ever been to or heard of: The Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n
After landing in Korea with the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division and fighting in numerous enemy engagements, Kyle, promoted to Master Sergeant, found himself at the port of Hungnam on North Korea\u2019s east coast. As part of the Hungnam Evacuation<\/a>‘s defensive perimeter, an ever-shrinking line that protected the port from approaching Chinese, he fought off the Chinese for nearly two weeks while military units and refugees were evacuated.<\/p>\n![\"Hungnam](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/..\/..\/..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Hungnam-Evacuation-1950.jpg\")
Hungnam Evacuation, North Korea, December 1950 (Photo credit: Department of the Navy).<\/p><\/div>\n
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1950, as the last Americans were leaving Hungnam, a huge explosion from a nearby ammo dump ripped through the beach. With the waterfront engulfed in flames and shrapnel ripping into soldiers trying to escape the inferno, Kyle began pulling wounded and dying men from the raging fires and ensuing smaller explosions.<\/p>\n
Jumping into a landing craft filled with soldiers, he maneuvered the boat away from the beach just seconds before another violent explosion occurred. According to eyewitness accounts, Kyle\u2019s actions saved the lives of the men trapped in the vessel. MSGT Kyle was awarded the Soldier\u2019s Medal and given a battlefield commission for his heroic actions.<\/p>\n
![\"Lt.](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Lt.-Darwin-Kyle-W.-VA.jpg\")
Lt. Darwin Kyle (Photo credit: US Army)<\/p><\/div>\n
The Bravest Man I Ever Saw<\/strong><\/h2>\nSix weeks later, Kyle, now a second lieutenant, was leading his men up a snow-packed, wind-swept hill near Suwon, South Korea, when his platoon came under withering machine-gun and mortar fire. Lt. Kyle, in total disregard for his own safety, charged into a Chinese gun position and single-handedly killed seven Chinese soldiers, four in hand-to-hand combat, before being mowed down by enemy fire.<\/p>\n
Sergeant James Yeomans, one of Kyle\u2019s men, attributed the lieutenant’s actions to saving the unit. \u201cHe was the bravest man I ever saw,\u201d Yeomans said.<\/p>\n
Kyle was awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor posthumously, and his wife, Betty, and two daughters were present to receive his decoration. In an interview for the Charleston Gazette<\/em>, his mother said her son was \u201calways a great kidder and full of fun . . . he never saw the dark side of a situation.\u201d In 1955, a ten-classroom elementary school in South Charleston was named in his honor, and in the late 1960’s, an army base in Korea was renamed “Camp Kyle” in recognition of his heroic actions during the Korean War.<\/p>\n![\"Camp](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Camp-Kyle-1960s-300x210.jpg\")
Camp Kyle in the 1960’s with Uijongbu in the background. (Photo credit: Steve Dreher- http:\/\/brucerichards.com\/army\/korea%20pics.htm)<\/p><\/div>\n\t
Sgt. Herbert Thomas<\/strong><\/h2>\nAnd South Charlestonians also remember their\u00a0first<\/em>\u00a0Medal of Honor recipient, Herbert J. Thomas.<\/p>\nBorn in 1918, Herbert Thomas grew up in South Charleston, graduated from South Charleston High School, and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, today called Virginia Tech<\/a>. In 1942, just two months before graduation, the football standout and excellent student left school and enlisted in the\u00a0Marines. By late 1943, he was in the Pacific<\/a> serving with 3rd Marine Division.<\/p>\nOn November 7, 1943, while leading his squad in an attack against a fortified Japanese position on Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands, a fatal mishap occurred. After making their way through dense, almost impenetrable jungle growth and destroying two enemy machine gun emplacements, Sgt. Thomas and his squad\u00a0stopped to prepare for a third and final assault on a Japanese machine gun\u00a0nest.<\/p>\n
![\"Marines](\"wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Marines-Bougainville.jpg\")
Marines moving inland to flush out Japanese defenders, Bougainville. (USMC official photo)<\/p><\/div>\n
As the attack began, Thomas, eager to complete his mission and get his Marines out of harm’s way, lobbed a hand grenade towards the enemy. In a terrifying twist of fate, the explosive\u00a0bounced off a thick overhead vine and landed amongst his men. Thomas dove on the grenade, smothering it with his body. The 25-year-old West Virginian died instantly.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, his men had stormed the machine gun nest, killed the remaining Japanese, and secured the area. Sergeant Herbert Thomas was posthumously awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor for his heroism. He was survived by his father and sister.<\/p>\n![\"Sgt.](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Sgt.-Herbert-Thomas.jpg\")
Sgt. Herbert Thomas, USMC. (Photo credit: wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n
In March 1945, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Herbert J. Thomas<\/em>, was named in his honor, and a year later Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston was opened. In 1949, a newly built dormitory at Virginia Tech, Thomas Hall, was named for the Marine sergeant, and more recently, in 2015, a Hall of Honor was built at Thomas Memorial Hospital to pay tribute to Thomas and all US veterans.<\/p>\n![\"USS](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/USS-Herbert-Thomas.jpg\")
USS Herbert J. Thomas, DD-833, commissioned on May 29, 1945. (Photo credit: navsource.org)<\/p><\/div>\n
Postscript<\/strong><\/h2>\nAlthough they never fought together or even knew one another during their short lives, Lt. Kyle and Sgt. Thomas, united by the same hometown, are both buried in South Charleston\u2019s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.<\/p>\n
They are testaments to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cgreatest generation,\u201d and the proud, rich history of small towns across America.<\/p>\n
Semper Fi!<\/p>\n\t
Top\/Featured photo credit<\/strong>: Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nedforney.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/bb-plugin\/img\/pixel.png\")
\n\t
Hungnam Evacuation, North Korea, December 1950 (Photo credit: Department of the Navy).<\/p><\/div>\n
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1950, as the last Americans were leaving Hungnam, a huge explosion from a nearby ammo dump ripped through the beach. With the waterfront engulfed in flames and shrapnel ripping into soldiers trying to escape the inferno, Kyle began pulling wounded and dying men from the raging fires and ensuing smaller explosions.<\/p>\n
Jumping into a landing craft filled with soldiers, he maneuvered the boat away from the beach just seconds before another violent explosion occurred. According to eyewitness accounts, Kyle\u2019s actions saved the lives of the men trapped in the vessel. MSGT Kyle was awarded the Soldier\u2019s Medal and given a battlefield commission for his heroic actions.<\/p>\n
Lt. Darwin Kyle (Photo credit: US Army)<\/p><\/div>\n
The Bravest Man I Ever Saw<\/strong><\/h2>\nSix weeks later, Kyle, now a second lieutenant, was leading his men up a snow-packed, wind-swept hill near Suwon, South Korea, when his platoon came under withering machine-gun and mortar fire. Lt. Kyle, in total disregard for his own safety, charged into a Chinese gun position and single-handedly killed seven Chinese soldiers, four in hand-to-hand combat, before being mowed down by enemy fire.<\/p>\n
Sergeant James Yeomans, one of Kyle\u2019s men, attributed the lieutenant’s actions to saving the unit. \u201cHe was the bravest man I ever saw,\u201d Yeomans said.<\/p>\n
Kyle was awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor posthumously, and his wife, Betty, and two daughters were present to receive his decoration. In an interview for the Charleston Gazette<\/em>, his mother said her son was \u201calways a great kidder and full of fun . . . he never saw the dark side of a situation.\u201d In 1955, a ten-classroom elementary school in South Charleston was named in his honor, and in the late 1960’s, an army base in Korea was renamed “Camp Kyle” in recognition of his heroic actions during the Korean War.<\/p>\nCamp Kyle in the 1960’s with Uijongbu in the background. (Photo credit: Steve Dreher- http:\/\/brucerichards.com\/army\/korea%20pics.htm)<\/p><\/div>\n\t
Sgt. Herbert Thomas<\/strong><\/h2>\nAnd South Charlestonians also remember their\u00a0first<\/em>\u00a0Medal of Honor recipient, Herbert J. Thomas.<\/p>\nBorn in 1918, Herbert Thomas grew up in South Charleston, graduated from South Charleston High School, and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, today called Virginia Tech<\/a>. In 1942, just two months before graduation, the football standout and excellent student left school and enlisted in the\u00a0Marines. By late 1943, he was in the Pacific<\/a> serving with 3rd Marine Division.<\/p>\nOn November 7, 1943, while leading his squad in an attack against a fortified Japanese position on Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands, a fatal mishap occurred. After making their way through dense, almost impenetrable jungle growth and destroying two enemy machine gun emplacements, Sgt. Thomas and his squad\u00a0stopped to prepare for a third and final assault on a Japanese machine gun\u00a0nest.<\/p>\n
Marines moving inland to flush out Japanese defenders, Bougainville. (USMC official photo)<\/p><\/div>\n
As the attack began, Thomas, eager to complete his mission and get his Marines out of harm’s way, lobbed a hand grenade towards the enemy. In a terrifying twist of fate, the explosive\u00a0bounced off a thick overhead vine and landed amongst his men. Thomas dove on the grenade, smothering it with his body. The 25-year-old West Virginian died instantly.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, his men had stormed the machine gun nest, killed the remaining Japanese, and secured the area. Sergeant Herbert Thomas was posthumously awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor for his heroism. He was survived by his father and sister.<\/p>\nSgt. Herbert Thomas, USMC. (Photo credit: wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n
In March 1945, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Herbert J. Thomas<\/em>, was named in his honor, and a year later Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston was opened. In 1949, a newly built dormitory at Virginia Tech, Thomas Hall, was named for the Marine sergeant, and more recently, in 2015, a Hall of Honor was built at Thomas Memorial Hospital to pay tribute to Thomas and all US veterans.<\/p>\nUSS Herbert J. Thomas, DD-833, commissioned on May 29, 1945. (Photo credit: navsource.org)<\/p><\/div>\n
Postscript<\/strong><\/h2>\nAlthough they never fought together or even knew one another during their short lives, Lt. Kyle and Sgt. Thomas, united by the same hometown, are both buried in South Charleston\u2019s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.<\/p>\n
They are testaments to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cgreatest generation,\u201d and the proud, rich history of small towns across America.<\/p>\n
Semper Fi!<\/p>\n\t
Top\/Featured photo credit<\/strong>: Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t
Camp Kyle in the 1960’s with Uijongbu in the background. (Photo credit: Steve Dreher- http:\/\/brucerichards.com\/army\/korea%20pics.htm)<\/p><\/div>\n\t
Sgt. Herbert Thomas<\/strong><\/h2>\nAnd South Charlestonians also remember their\u00a0first<\/em>\u00a0Medal of Honor recipient, Herbert J. Thomas.<\/p>\nBorn in 1918, Herbert Thomas grew up in South Charleston, graduated from South Charleston High School, and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, today called Virginia Tech<\/a>. In 1942, just two months before graduation, the football standout and excellent student left school and enlisted in the\u00a0Marines. By late 1943, he was in the Pacific<\/a> serving with 3rd Marine Division.<\/p>\nOn November 7, 1943, while leading his squad in an attack against a fortified Japanese position on Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands, a fatal mishap occurred. After making their way through dense, almost impenetrable jungle growth and destroying two enemy machine gun emplacements, Sgt. Thomas and his squad\u00a0stopped to prepare for a third and final assault on a Japanese machine gun\u00a0nest.<\/p>\n
Marines moving inland to flush out Japanese defenders, Bougainville. (USMC official photo)<\/p><\/div>\n
As the attack began, Thomas, eager to complete his mission and get his Marines out of harm’s way, lobbed a hand grenade towards the enemy. In a terrifying twist of fate, the explosive\u00a0bounced off a thick overhead vine and landed amongst his men. Thomas dove on the grenade, smothering it with his body. The 25-year-old West Virginian died instantly.<\/p>\n
Within minutes, his men had stormed the machine gun nest, killed the remaining Japanese, and secured the area. Sergeant Herbert Thomas was posthumously awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor for his heroism. He was survived by his father and sister.<\/p>\nSgt. Herbert Thomas, USMC. (Photo credit: wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n
In March 1945, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Herbert J. Thomas<\/em>, was named in his honor, and a year later Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston was opened. In 1949, a newly built dormitory at Virginia Tech, Thomas Hall, was named for the Marine sergeant, and more recently, in 2015, a Hall of Honor was built at Thomas Memorial Hospital to pay tribute to Thomas and all US veterans.<\/p>\nUSS Herbert J. Thomas, DD-833, commissioned on May 29, 1945. (Photo credit: navsource.org)<\/p><\/div>\n
Postscript<\/strong><\/h2>\nAlthough they never fought together or even knew one another during their short lives, Lt. Kyle and Sgt. Thomas, united by the same hometown, are both buried in South Charleston\u2019s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.<\/p>\n
They are testaments to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cgreatest generation,\u201d and the proud, rich history of small towns across America.<\/p>\n
Semper Fi!<\/p>\n\t
Top\/Featured photo credit<\/strong>: Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t
Born in 1918, Herbert Thomas grew up in South Charleston, graduated from South Charleston High School, and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, today called Virginia Tech<\/a>. In 1942, just two months before graduation, the football standout and excellent student left school and enlisted in the\u00a0Marines. By late 1943, he was in the Pacific<\/a> serving with 3rd Marine Division.<\/p>\n On November 7, 1943, while leading his squad in an attack against a fortified Japanese position on Bougainville, in the Solomon Islands, a fatal mishap occurred. After making their way through dense, almost impenetrable jungle growth and destroying two enemy machine gun emplacements, Sgt. Thomas and his squad\u00a0stopped to prepare for a third and final assault on a Japanese machine gun\u00a0nest.<\/p>\n Marines moving inland to flush out Japanese defenders, Bougainville. (USMC official photo)<\/p><\/div>\n As the attack began, Thomas, eager to complete his mission and get his Marines out of harm’s way, lobbed a hand grenade towards the enemy. In a terrifying twist of fate, the explosive\u00a0bounced off a thick overhead vine and landed amongst his men. Thomas dove on the grenade, smothering it with his body. The 25-year-old West Virginian died instantly.<\/p>\n Within minutes, his men had stormed the machine gun nest, killed the remaining Japanese, and secured the area. Sergeant Herbert Thomas was posthumously awarded<\/a> the Medal of Honor for his heroism. He was survived by his father and sister.<\/p>\n Sgt. Herbert Thomas, USMC. (Photo credit: wikipedia)<\/p><\/div>\n In March 1945, a US Navy destroyer, the USS Herbert J. Thomas<\/em>, was named in his honor, and a year later Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston was opened. In 1949, a newly built dormitory at Virginia Tech, Thomas Hall, was named for the Marine sergeant, and more recently, in 2015, a Hall of Honor was built at Thomas Memorial Hospital to pay tribute to Thomas and all US veterans.<\/p>\n USS Herbert J. Thomas, DD-833, commissioned on May 29, 1945. (Photo credit: navsource.org)<\/p><\/div>\n Although they never fought together or even knew one another during their short lives, Lt. Kyle and Sgt. Thomas, united by the same hometown, are both buried in South Charleston\u2019s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.<\/p>\n They are testaments to\u00a0the\u00a0\u201cgreatest generation,\u201d and the proud, rich history of small towns across America.<\/p>\n Semper Fi!<\/p>\n\t Top\/Featured photo credit<\/strong>: Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\tPostscript<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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