RIP Col. James L. Stone (1922-2012)
Colonel James L. Stone, U.S. Army, Retired, was commissioned in Oct. 1948 from the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). On Nov. 21-22, 1951 near Sokkogae, Korea, 1st Lt. Stone, was assigned platoon leader in the First Cavalry Division.
At about 9:00 pm, Chinese forces launched an artillery and mortar attack against the outpost, followed by a series of infantry assaults. Stone led his platoon's defense against the battalion-sized force. Just after midnight, a second battalion joined the Chinese assault, pitting Stone's forty-eight man platoon against roughly eight hundred enemy soldiers.
Wounded three times during the battle, Stone continued to lead his men and fight, including in hand-to-hand combat. Realizing the defense was hopeless, Stone ordered those men who could still walk to leave and rejoin the rest of Company E, while he stayed behind with the badly wounded to cover their retreat. Stone eventually lost consciousness and, just before dawn on November 22, he and the six remaining men of his platoon were captured by Chinese forces and held for 22 months.
Stone's heroic actions merited receipt of the Medal of Honor which was presented to him by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Weblinks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_L._Stone
http://greertoday.com/greer-sc/medal...es/2012/11/10/
Another hero passes...
